Arroyo lawyer on PNoy wheelchair joke: Done in poor taste

By MARK MERUEÑAS, GMA News

Published October 23, 2012 12:42pm

Done in poor taste. This was how lawyer Ferdinand Topacio described President Benigno Aquino III's wheelchair joke shared before a Filipino community in Auckland, New Zealand which apparently targeted former Philippine leader Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Mrs. Arroyo is currently suffering from spine problems and could be seen wheelchair-bound whenever she appears in public. She is currently under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City facing plunder charges. “As the elders would say, ‘Nagpapatawa pero hindi naman kalbo’ as far as the saying applies to the President. It trivializes the sickness of a person who is suffering from a disease and pokes fun at the anxiety her condition has brought to the Arroyo Family," said Topacio, one of Mrs. Arroyo's lawyers.

On Monday, President Aquino took yet another swipe against the Arroyo administration, only this time via a joke.

“You know, let me just share this joke. I kept laughing when I got it. It said, ‘Our fellow Filipinos who are corrupt use luxurious cars, so expensive and fast. But when they want to escape, they use a wheelchair,’” the President said.

While Aquino did not mention any names, he was clearly alluding to Mrs. Arroyo, who, in November last year, tried but failed to leave the country for medical reasons. Facing graft and electoral sabotage charges at the time, Mrs. Arroyo was brought to the airport on a wheelchair.

Another target of the joke could be ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona who, on his second appearance at the Senate impeachment court last May, was also on a wheelchair. He was reported to be suffering from diabetes at the time. Corona was subsequently found guilty by the impeachment court.

Aquino, however, issued a disclaimer, saying he was merely repeating a message sent to him through text. 'Slur' vs doctors

Topacio said that Aquino's joke could also be considered a "slur" against Filipino doctors, and added that the President seemed to be insinuating the Arroyos colluded with her doctors just so the former president would not get thrown to jail and instead be held in hospital arrest.

Topacio insisted that Mrs. Arroyo's doctor have always told the truth, even when they appeared during the trial for her electoral sabotage case in connection with supposed rigging in the 2007 midterm polls in southern Philippines.

“Worse, by using the word ‘corrupt,’ the President is prejudging cases still in court, and his tasteless joke may be interpreted as an attempt to meddle into purely judicial affairs. The President must be reminded that under our Constitution, which he has sworn to uphold, every accused is presumed innocent," Topacio said.

Topacio advised the President to refrain from making similar jokes in public, saying Malacañang and the ruling Liberal Party, already has "enough comedians."

"The President should stop further embarrassing our country by acting his age and stop being like a little kid passing on text jokes. Government is not grade school where the bully with the loudest voice is the leader; it is a serious matter for grown-ups who do not deal with trifling matters. The President’s elder sisters and aunts should advise him of that," he said. — RSJ, GMA News

Tags: gloriamacapagalarroyo, noynoyaquino