Ex Philippines President Arroyo Arrested for Life imprisonment

MANILA — The former president of the Philippines; Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was arrested in her hospital room on Friday (November 18, 2011) on charges of election fraud, her attorney said, after days of dramatic tussling with the government over whether she would be allowed to leave the country.

Mrs. Arroyo, 64, said she suffers from a bone ailment that requires medical treatment unavailable in the Philippines. Government officials suspected that the former president, who has denied any wrong doing, might be seeking to flee the country to avoid an eventual arrest on election fraud and corruption charges.

The Philippines government offered to shoulder the medication and all expenses for Mrs. Arroyo's hypoparathyroidism and bone mineral disorder but refused the government's offer and insisted to travel abroad

The government of President Benigno S. Aquino III has sought to keep her in the country while she is under investigation, but her midnight appointed Supreme Court justice ruled earlier this week that she could not be restricted from travelling.

Her attorney, Raul Lambino said by telephone that Mrs. Arroyo had prepared herself for the possibility of an arrest and was silent when it happened. He said that the police officers on the scene assured the former president's lawyers that she would not be taken to the police station and would be held in custody in her hospital room.

The arrest followed the filing of election fraud charges Friday afternoon in the Pasay Regional Trial Court in Manila. A conviction could result in a sentence of 40 years to life imprisonment.

Mr. Lambino said that he expected the charges to be dismissed quickly. He said that the regional trial court where the charges were filed has no jurisdiction over a former president. A special high-level court, known as the Sandiganbayan, is mandated with handling charges of corruption against senior government officials, he said.

"They filed these charges in this court simply as a matter of expediency in order to obtain the arrest warrant," Mr. Lambino said. "We are confident that the higher court will dismiss this action swiftly. This is a clear violation of the president's human rights by this government."

The former president's husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, issued a statement saying Mrs. Arroyo had been "railroaded" with invalid charges filed in haste in the lower court in order to block Mrs. Arroyo from traveling overseas. "This is a sad day for due process," he said in a statement.

Philippine presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda dismissed the criticism, noting: "It's always a sad day when they lose."

80 to 90% of Filipinos Rejoiced for the new window of Justice

Philippines' former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been known to be the wisest and most smart Philippine leader  in the history as she could able to manipulate justice that could always be in her favor.

She has been known to be the classmate of the former US President William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton, the husband of the US Secretary Hillary Rodman Clinton in the Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C, USA

The justice system of the Philippines never found any sunrise during the Arroyo's more than 9 year term as it is covered by doubts and injustice as she appointed most of the justice in the Supreme Court to always do a good favor for her.

Filipinos are in thirst of justice as many extra judicial killings who are against in here government.

Series of rallies happened to oppose her government but she found the weakness of the Filipinos by hiding the rice to swell its prices so the rally would be stop as the hunger rises in all over the country. The rice prices doubled for the first time in just 3 months period. This is the reason of the rotting of 600,000 metric tons of rice which was imported in India

The Filipinos want justice but the Supreme Court of the Philippines is under control by the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

For so many cases filed against her, nothing will succeed as the Supreme Court justices will make a decision always in her favor. Renato Corona is one of her midnight appointed Supreme Court Justice to be her protector.

The Executive body and the judicial body is always fighting for the right justice but seems to be elusive.

November 18, 2011- the Executive body mark the history of the Philippines to issue a warrant of arrest to the strong woman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for an election sabotage crime.

80 – 90% of Filipinos around the world are celebrating for the success of the executive body to implement justice over the dark-molded and judicial body which is controlled by the arroyo family.

Though it is not in the final stage, Filipinos around the world are excited to hear and see that the accountable must be jailed.

Filipinos are upset of the over-exaggerated interpretation of human rights which the arroyo family is calling for. People are angry of the system as the justice is just for the rich who could afford to buy the law. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as seen to the majority Filipino as corrupt and accountable could not be jailed because of her rights even as criminal.  Filipinos are emboldened with the Friday's issuance of warrant of arrest for Mrs. Gloria Arroyo.

Supreme Court of Arroyo

On Tuesday (November 15, 2011), the Philippine Supreme Court had ruled that Mrs. Arroyo could leave the country for medical care. At the time, she was under investigation for corruption and electoral fraud, but had not been formally charged. But later that day, as she attempted to board a flight to Singapore, she was blocked by airport officials on orders of the government.

On Friday, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its previous ruling and ordered the Philippine government to comply.

"As far as this court is concerned the Arroyo couple can leave," Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said.

The election fraud charges filed Friday, in the lower court, are a separate matter, Mr. Marquez said.

Because the charges resulted in the issuance of an arrest warrant, he said, they nullified the Supreme Court's ruling that allowed Mrs. Arroyo to travel. This effectively ended the standoff between high court and government, he said.

Earlier in the week, the attorney for Mrs. Arroyo's husband, Ferdinand Topacio, said in a television interview that he was so confident in his clients that he would have one of his testicles removed if the Arroyos went overseas and did not return to face charges.

After the filing of charges in the Pasay Regional Trial Court, and subsequent issuing of an arrest warrant on Friday, Mr. Lacierda, the presidential spokesman, said: "The order in the Pasay court has allowed Attorney Topacio to save his family jewels."

Friday's charges stem from allegations that the former president, who left office last year and was subsequently elected to Congress, tampered with the results of congressional elections in 2007. She also faces separate allegations that she diverted government money for use in her campaign. The corruption complaints are under investigation and could result in formal charges.

Mr. Aquino, her successor, was elected in 2010 on an anti-corruption and government reform campaign. He had said repeatedly that the former president should publicly address the widespread allegations against her of corruption and vote-rigging.

Mrs. Arroyo had herself supported the trial and prosecution of her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, on corruption charges. He was sentenced to life in prison but later pardoned by Mrs. Arroyo.

List of the country's known anomalies that linked to the former President Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo

1. NBN ZTE Scandal
2. Millions of bribe money to Congressmen and Governors (October 2007)
3. Cheating in 2004 Elections (Hello Garci Scandal)
4. Joc Joc Bolante Case (Fertilizer Scam, ₱ 728 Million)
5. Jose Pidal Bank Account (Unexplained Wealth, ₱ 200 Million)
6. Nani Perez Power Plant Deal ( $2 Million USD)
7. Use of Road User's Tax for Campaigning in the Election
8. Billion Peso Macapagal Boulevard (Overprice of ₱ 532 Million)
9. Juetengate? (Illegal Numbers game kickbacks)
10. Extra Judicial Killings and the World known Maguindanao Massacre
11. Arroyo Moneys in Germany (Exposed by Senator Cayetano)
12. General Garcia and Other Military Men (Pabaon Scandal)
13. Billion Peso Poll Automation contract to(Mega Pacific) (₱ 1.3 Billion)
14. North-rail Project($503 Million USD)
15. Maguindanao Results of 2007 Elections (Zubiri, Bedol)
16. NAIA-3 controversy
17. Venable Contract (Norberto Gonzales)
18. Swine Scam (Exposed by:  Atty. Harry Roque)
19. GLORIA Arroyo son hidden assets in United States of America
20. EURO GENERAL'S
21. CALAMITY FUND SCANDAL
22. The C-5 road controversy — Senator Manuel Villar
23. ₱ 550-million worth of funds from the Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration (OWWA - OFW Fund)
24. ₱ 780-million LWUA funds-Prospero Pichay
25. Bishop's SUV-Gloria Birthday gift
26. Arroyo linked in ₱ 325M lotto intelligence fund
27. Arroyo got ₱ 200M in kickbacks from Government  projects-Zaldy Ampatuan
28. ₱ 200.41 billion or $ 4.6 billion USD  in Malampaya royalties from 2002 to May this year
29. LACSON ACCUSED FG MIKE ARROYO OF SELLING 3 REFURBISHED HELICOPTERS as brand new TO PNP AT ₱ 105 MILLION EACH
30. 600, 000 metric tons of rotten rice imported from India. Kishore Hemlani, an Indian trader allegedly close to Arroyo, reportedly bagged the P9.5 billion contract for the rice importation
31. Dato Arroyo wife bought the condo unit for $ 570,000 - 70-square-meter one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit (Unit No. 533) at the luxury high-rise, full-service Gramercy Towers located at 1177 California St. in upscale downtown San Francisco, USA
32. ₱ 50-million bribe to FG for the president's veto of two franchise bills.
33. The additional funding led to a 41-percent spike in advertising expenses, from P76.129 million in 2008 to P107.420 million in 2009 which went mostly to ads for Arroyo's achievements.
34. The report said the PIA received from the Department of Budget and Management a notice of cash allocations amounting to ₱344.789 million even though only P222.488 million was appropriated for it under the national budget
35. Denial of pork barrel funds to Malacanang's political enemies
36. Praises for Jovito Palparan, alleged mastermind of extra judicial killings of militants
37. Removal of Government  bodyguards for former pres and Arroyo critic, Cory Aquino
38. Appointment of manicurist as a member of the board of Pag-Ibig
39. Appointment of gardener as deputy of the Luneta Park Administration
40. Midnight appointment of an Arroyo, RENATO CORONA, as SC Chief Justice
41. 200+ other illegal midnight appointments.

So many things to be done

The justice system and the Filipino culture is still a challenge as Filipinos observe a debt of honor (Filipino: Utang na Loob, Binisaya: Utang kabobot-on) after someone lend a help it would be reciprocated with a favor, or a favor would be reciprocated with the same.

Former President Arroyo appointed the Chief Justice Renato Corona as midnight appointment to be her protector for possible trials of corruption charges and anomalies under her term and corona did what the former president wants.

This is a challenge of the current administration as the justice system of the Philippines must be fixed first so the real progress of the country would be attained.