Philippine ex-president arrested on electoral fraud charges

Nov 18, 2011, 11:55 GMT

Manila - Philippine police on Friday arrested former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on charges of electoral fraud, which could see her imprisoned for life.

But police allowed Arroyo to stay in hospital for health reasons and instead assigned a guard outside her room, said Senior Superintendent James Bucayu, a police deputy district commander.

'She is now under hospital arrest,' Bucayu said. 'She is now under police custody but we will not bring her out because of her condition, which is pitiful.'

Judge Jesus Mupas of the Pasay Regional Trial Court in Manila ordered Arroyo's arrest just hours after the Commission on Elections filed the criminal charges against her, and hours before she and her husband had planned to fly to Singapore to seek medical treatment.

The case of electoral sabotage, which is non-bailable and punishable by life imprisonment, alleges that Arroyo and her allies manipulated the results of congressional elections in 2007 to favour candidates from her administration.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima hailed the issuance of the arrest warrant as a 'real triumph of justice.'

'Mrs Arroyo is compelled to stay in the country and face the charges of electoral sabotage filed against her, bringing us closer to uncovering the truth behind the controversies surrounding the 2007 elections,' she said.

'It is our desire that truth and accountability prevail and that the Filipino people be given the justice they truly deserve,' she added.

Bucayu said Arroyo was with her husband and lawyers when the warrant was served at her room at the St Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City in Manila, where she has been confined since Tuesday.

He added that police officers would return on Saturday to take Arroyo's mugshot and fingerprints, noting the booking procedures were not done because she was 'under stress.'

Arroyo, now a member of Congress, has been under investigation since August for suspected fraud and corruption during her time in office from 2001 to 2010.

The formal charges came after Arroyo 'did not rebut any of the accusations against her,' said Sixto Brillantes, chairman of the Commission on Elections.

Arroyo's camp denounced the charges, with one of her lawyers describing the charges as 'a high form of injustice.'

Prior to the warrant, Arroyo and her husband were booked on a flight for Singapore leaving later Friday. Airport authorities said the couple had checked in online, but later cancelled their flight.

The 64-year-old former president and her husband had tried to leave for Singapore on Tuesday to seek medical treatment for hypoparathyroidism and bone mineral disorder, but were prevented by immigration officers despite a Supreme Court order allowing them to travel.

Earlier Friday, the Supreme Court upheld its order and directed de Lima to stop blocking Arroyo and her husband from going abroad and explain why she should not be cited for contempt.

Supreme Court spokesman Midas Marquez said the former president 'is now barred from traveling because of the arrest warrant.'