Congresswoman Gloria Arroyo during a visit in Zamboanga City when she was still President.
Arroyo is facing numerous charges in the Philippines
“The saga of lies must end. Mrs. Arroyo and her lawyers’ insolence and contempt for the rule of law and the Filipino people must be admonished. They should not take the people for fools, feigning life-threatening medical conditions one day and claiming miraculous recovery the next. Walang himala. Huwag nilang gawing tanga ang mamamayan,” Congresswoman Luz Ilagan said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
Ilagan, a staunch critic of Arroyo, accused the ex-president of poll fraud and human rights violation during her reign. “For nine years she lied, cheated, stole from the nation’s coffers and violated human rights with shameless impunity and there is not one iota of remorse. Mrs. Arroyo and her cohorts should be jailed,” Ilagan alleged.
Ilagan also warned President Benigno Aquino against allowing special treatment for Arroyo, whose battery of top caliber lawyers are now seeking house arrest for her.
Arroyo is currently under “hospital” arrest on charges of electoral sabotage. She is confined at the executive suite of the posh St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City
Her doctors declined to issue a medical bulletin about Arroyo’s condition. She is also suffering from a spine injury.
“There should be no room for double standards in President Aquino’s (campaign battle cry) Daang Matuwid (straight path), if it really is the righteous road to reform as it claims to be. Former President Gloria Arroyo should be treated according to what the law requires. There should be no special treatment and there should be an end to this government’s tolerance for lies,” Ilagan said.
Police have prepared a modest room for Arroyo in their headquarters at the Southern Police District – a far cry from her hospital quarter which is complete with luxurious amenities that included a Jacuzzi and visitor’s lounge. (Mindanao Examiner)
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