Gloria Arroyo takes oath before notary public at Veterans' Hospital

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has taken her oath of office as re-elected congresswoman of Pampanga's second district while under hospital arrest inside the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City.

 

Lawyer Raul Lambino, Mrs. Arroyo's new chief of staff, said the ex-President decided to take her oath before lawyer Galileo Angeles, a notary public, on Sunday due to constraints posed by her arrest.

 

"Sa isang notary public siya nag-take oath kasi hindi naman siya pwedeng mag-swear in sa Congress o sa isang judge. 'Yung notary public naman is authorized to do that under the Administrative Code," Lambino said in a separate phone interview.

 

Former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, former Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo and six of Mrs. Arroyo's constituents from Pampanga witnessed her oath-taking inside the VMMC, Lambino added.

 

Lambino likewise said that the former President was "okay" and wore "normal" clothes during her oath-taking .

 

Mrs. Arroyo is currently detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City for a plunder case in connection with alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds during her incumbency. 

 

She is also facing a poll sabotage case before a Pasay court for allegedly rigging the 2007 midterm elections. A Pasay court earlier allowed her to post bail. — Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News