Gloria Arroyo: SC affirmation of acquittal in PCSO plunder case ‘a vindication’

Former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said she feels vindicated after the Supreme Court affirmed its ruling dismissing the plunder case filed against her over the alleged misuse of the P366-million intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

In a statement read before House reporters on Thursday, Arroyo said she was “delighted” by the high court’s decision.

“I feel fortunate that I was given the chance to clear my name. It is truly a vindication,” she said.

“We can now move forward and take stock of what remains to be done to help this current administration achieve its goals of giving a better life to all Filipinos,” she added.

Voting 11-4, the high court denied the motion for reconsideration filed by the Office of the Ombudsman to the SC's July 2016 decision for lack of merit.

The high court, in a separate vote of 10 to 5, also upheld its decision junking the plunder raps against Arroyo's co-accused, former  PCSO budget officer and accounts manager Benigno Aguas.

Arroyo, who served as president from 2001 to 2010, spent four years under hospital arrest in connection with the plunder case.

The Sandiganbayan ordered her release in July 2016, in line with the high court’s ruling. — Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/RSJ, GMA News