Gloria Arroyo asks for prayers for family ahead of ex-First Gentleman's surgery

Former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday night asked for prayers, saying it had been "a difficult time for the family."

On Facebook, Arroyo said that her husband former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo would need to undergo surgery on April 7.

She also adverted to her son former Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo's successful surgery on March 18 after getting diagnosed with Stage One cancer of the thyroid.

Arroyo then mentioned the death of Paolo Tantoco, who was married to her niece Dina.

"This has been a difficult time for the family. First, my husband Mike's dissecting aortic aneurism that required an emergency repair in 2007 is expanding again, and he will have to undergo a big surgery, combining a bypass and an aortoplasty, on April 7 to avert another emergency," Arroyo said.

"Then, our son Mikey's biopsy revealed Stage One cancer of the thyroid gland, and he underwent surgery last March 18, thankfully, a successful one," she added.

"Meanwhile, Paowee Tantoco, the husband of our niece Dina, who spent the first four years of her life in our home, passed away. I have been spending much time with my constituents in Pampanga because I will be leaving soon for Singapore for Mike's surgery. Please pray for my family," Arroyo said. –NB, GMA Integrated News