Gloria Arroyo's camp petitions for house arrest

Published November 25, 2011 9:50am

UPDATED 12:50 p.m. - Instead of hospital arrest, the camp of detained former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo is now seeking house arrest for the former Chief Executive.

A report of Jun Veneracion on GMA News TV's "News To Go" on Friday said lawyer Jose Flaminiano asked the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 112 to place Mrs. Arroyo under house arrest.

Flaminiano said they withdrew their petition because Mrs. Arroyo's condition was improving.

In fact, he said Mrs. Arroyo can soon be discharged from the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City, where she is currently detained.

Pasay City RTC Branch 112 Judge Jesus Mupas earlier said he wants to hear from the doctors of the St. Luke's Medical Center about Mrs. Arroyo's medical condition.

Those summoned by the court were Dr. Juliet Cervantes, Mrs. Arroyo’s attending physician; Dr. Mario Ver, orthopedic surgeon; and Dr. Roberto Mirasol, endocrinologist.

The doctors were asked to explain Mrs. Arroyo’s medical condition to help the court decide on whether or not to allow the former President to be under hospital arrest until she has fully recovered.

Ver told the court that Mrs. Arroyo is "fit to be treated as an outpatient" and is already undergoing "conservative treatment" for her backache.

Mrs. Arroyo has been staying at St. Luke's since November 15, after immigration officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) barred her from leaving the country to seek medical treatment abroad for her bone problem.

She was arrested last November 18, hours after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) filed an electoral sabotage case against her at the Pasay RTC.

Mrs. Arroyo’s camp submitted to the court on Wednesday a motion for hospital arrest, along with copies of her medical certificates and other documents providing details on the series of surgeries she underwent months ago to cure a pinched nerve on her spine, scientifically known as multilevel cervical spondylosis.

On November 22, the trial court allowed Mrs. Arroyo to be placed under temporary hospital arrest.

Motion to move to a detention facility

The prosecution had intially moved to transfer Mrs. Arroyo to a government-run hospital while the court was still hearing their verbal motions.

However, upon hearing Ver's testimony, the prosecution made a motion to move Mrs. Arroyo to the detention facility of the Southern Police District.

The Pasay RTC judge Mupas, has yet to rule on the motions. He said the court will resume its hearing on the electoral sabotage case against Mrs. Arroyo next Tuesday.

Arroyo getting better

In a separate report aired over GMA News TV, reporter John Consulta said Mrs. Arroyo was better now after getting a 48-hour bedrest.

Consulta said that the former President was still receiving dextrose as treatment for her loss of appetite.

He likewise said Mrs. Arroyo wishes to go home to her house in La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City so her lawyers asked the court for a house arrest. - with Kim Tan, VVP/MRT, GMA News

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