Former
Philippine President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Arroyo will wait
for the outcome of Friday’s special Supreme Court en banc session before making
another attempt to leave the country, according to her spokesperson Elena
Bautista-Horn.
Arroyo herself decided against leaving
Thursday despite an alleged 12:15 p.m. appointment with an endocrinologist in
Singapore so she could rest more as her elevated blood pressure had not
stabilised, Horn told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Horn said Arroyo was administered intravenous
fluids Thursday at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City, where she would
likely await the action of the high court on the Aquino government’s decision
stopping her and her husband, Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, from
traveling abroad.
"Hopefully, the former President can
leave tomorrow (Friday) or Saturday if the Supreme Court will issue a CDO
(cease and desist order) to the Department of Justice (DOJ) immediately after
its special session," Horn said.
"Definitely, she wouldn’t want to undergo
the same predicament when they were stopped from leaving at the airport. That’s
very stressful on her part," she said.
With the former President in the hospital were
her husband and son, Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado "Dato"
rroyo.
Daughter Luli is still abroad while eldest
son, Ang Galing Pinoy Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo was
scheduled to leave late Thursday night for the United States after the Quezon
City Regional Trial Court issued an allowed-departure order (ADO).
Acting on DOJ orders, immigration authorities
stopped the former President and her husband
from flying to Singapore on Tuesday night.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima maintained the
watch-list order against Arroyo was in effect pending an oral argument which the
Supreme Court has set for Tuesday, November 22.
Horn said that Arroyo’s lawyers had asked the
high court to hold the oral argument much earlier so as not to further delay
the trip.
Medical
appointment
On Thursday afternoon, Horn said Arroyo’s
appointment with medical specialists in Singapore had been moved tentatively to
Saturday but she refused to give the exact time.
Horn said the IV device attached to Arroyo had
been removed and that she could move around the room, “but her BP is still
fluctuating” and her doctors had been informed. The spokesperson said she did
not know what caused the fluctuations.
Horn said that the former President was
"eating somehow" in spoonfuls ranging from three to four and that
this “loss of appetite” was one of her complaints.
Horn also said Arroyo was "very tired and
stressed" as a result of Tuesday’s airport incident but despite her
condition, she was still hopeful Arroyo would be able to push through with her
travel plans Friday.
"If the doctors clear her, it’s still a
very possible option," she said.
Decision
up to Arroyo
Droves of media people waited at a lounge near
St. Luke’s Medical Center from Wednesday night to Thursday morning hoping to
see Arroyo. Some spent the night on the hospital grounds while others arrived
in the wee hours of morning. But Arroyo did not leave her hospital room.
"Her blood pressure is still not
stable," said another Arroyo spokesperson, Raul Lambino. He said the
decision to stay came from Arroyo, who felt “weak” following the showdown with
immigration authorities at the airport.
Asked when Arroyo would push through with her
travel plans, Lambino said it depended on the congresswoman. "When she’s
physically fit," he said.
Belmonte
advice
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said it would
be better if Arroyo would just wait until the Supreme Court had held oral
arguments on the case before making another try to leave.
Belmonte said that as far as Congress was
concerned, the House leadership had been accommodating as much as possible of
her request to travel under the chamber’s own rules.
Belmonte said he did not believe a legal
showdown between the high court and the DOJ would result in a constitutional
crisis.
He also said he would not sign a resolution,
expected to be filed by Liberal Party members in the House of Representatives
next week, supporting the government’s decision to uphold its travel ban
against Arroyo.
"As a Speaker, I would like to represent
all the various members of the coalition of the majority and not [just] the
Liberal Party. I guess eventually, they would like anybody to sign it but as
for me, I’m as much the Speaker of the
NPC (Nationalist People’s Coalition) and all the other parties," he
stressed.
Courting
trouble
On De Lima’s refusal to implement the high
court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) against her, which allows Arroyo to
travel, House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said she was inviting trouble.
"Secretary De Lima cannot justify her
open defiance of the Supreme Court’s TRO on the pendency of the government’s
motion for reconsideration because entrenched in our jurisprudence is the rule
that a motion for reconsideration or an appeal cannot stay the execution of a
TRO," Lagman said.
Zambales Representative Mitos Magsaysay
claimed De Lima was to blame for the media circus that resulted from Arroyo’s
failed attempt to leave the country to seek medical attention.
"If the government is getting flak for
not following the TRO that the Supreme Court itself has decided to grant the
Arroyos, it is their own fault because in the first place, they have not yet
filed any case against the Arroyos," Magsaysay said.
"Now that the TRO has been granted, they
are stalling for time and rushing so that they could file their case, praying
for a technicality," she added.
Sobriety
needed
Representative Antonio Tinio of the Alliance
of Concerned Teachers urged the Arroyo camp to just wait for the oral arguments
of the Supreme Court on Tuesday considering that her medical condition was not
life-threatening.
Tinio said avoiding another confrontation at
the airport might do wonders for her recovery.
"Representative Arroyo should just sit
back and relax so as to prepare herself for the coming oral arguments,"
Tinio said.
Representative Sherwin Tugna of the Citizens’
Battle Against Corruption called for sobriety.
"(This) should not be seen as a spat
between the Supreme Court and Malaca?ang but as an important issue concerning
the greater interest of the country which needs immediate but conscientious
resolution for the benefit of the country and the Filipino people," Tugna
said. With reports from Kristine Felisse Mangunay and Erwin Aguilon, Radyo
Inquirer 990AM
Cynthia D. Balana
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment