MANILA, Philippines – Senator Grace Poe said on Thursday, January 28, that she would not meddle in the case of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo if she is elected president.

The presidential aspirant made the statement in a forum with the Inquirer on Thursday, when asked what would happen to Arroyo under a Poe presidency.

“Kahit na sino pa nasa kulungan na may tunay na kahinaan o sakit, kailangan bigyan ng konsiderasyon. (Iyan ay) nasa desisyon na rin ng korte at doctor. Di ko papakialaman yan. Kung ano magiging desisyon nyan susuportahan ko,” Poe said.

(Whoever is in jail who is really weak or ill has to be given consideration. That’s also up for the decision of the courts and doctors. I will not meddle in that. Whatever their decision may be, I will support it.)

Her father, the late action star Fernando Poe Jr, ran and lost to Arroyo in the 2004 presidential elections, widely believed to be marred by fraud.

“Importante sa isang pangulo na patas ang isang korte at panatilihin ang imbestigasyon ay maging malinis at maayos (It is important for a president to ensure the fairness of the courts and the clean and orderly investigation of cases),” the senator said.

In 2005, Poe decided to return to the country and was a key personality in anti-Arroyo protests, especially after the Hello Garci controversy, wherein Arroyo was allegedly heard ordering an elections commissioner to fabricate votes in her favor.

Arroyo was arrested in 2012 over the alleged misuse of the P366 million- Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) intelligence funds from 2008 to 2010.

The former president, who is suffering from cervical spondylosis, is under hospital arrest at the Veteran’s Medical Memorial Center.

In 2015, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) opined that the detention of Attoyo “violates international law” and is “arbitrary on a number of grounds.”  

Malacañang, however, earlier maintained only Philippine courts have sole jurisdiction on Arroyo’s case and that she “has been accorded such due process and has availed herself of various legal remedies under Philippine laws.” – Rappler.com