FORMER president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has asked the Supreme Court for a five day furlough for the celebration of her birthday next month.
In a two-page motion filed last Friday, Arroyo, who is on hospital arrest while standing trial for her remaining case in the Sandiganbayan, appealed to be allowed to leave the Veterans Memorial Medical Center and spend her birthday with her family in their Quezon City home from April 3 to April 7.
Her lawyers argued that celebrating her 69th birthday on April 5 with her family would benefit Arroyo, especially considering her frail health.
“It is the opinion of her doctors that her continued confinement is injurious to her health. A five-day furlough to celebrate her birthday and be with family and friends will do the former president some good,” Arroyo’s lawyers said in their pleading.
“Petitioner Arroyo appeals anew to the humanity of the Honorable Supreme Court and respectfully asks that she be granted a similar furlough for her birthday on 5 April 2016… To this day, the law presumes petitioner Arroyo innocent. She is not a flight risk and has no intention of fleeing,” they added.
Last December, the SC granted relief to Arroyo by approving her plea for a holiday furlough and allowing her to spend Christmas and New Year with her family in their Quezon City residence.
Last week, the SC extended for the second time its order suspending the trial of Mrs. Arroyo.
It extended for 60 days or until April 20 its status quo ante order halting the proceedings before the first division of the anti-graft court on the PCSO case.
Arroyo filed a petition with the high court in April 2014 seeking reversal of the final ruling of the Sandiganbayan first division in February 2014 denying her bail motion. The office of the solicitor general has not yet answered the petition.
In October last year, the former leader reiterated her plea and asked the SC to now rule on her case as she cited the recent report of the United Nations Technical Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recommending her release from detention.
The UN panel recommended the reconsideration of Mrs. Arroyo’s application for bail “in accordance with the relevant international human rights standards.”
