Akbayan spokesperson Risa Hontiveros challenged the High Court today to give a swift and smooth “KO” to the Arroyos’ attempt to evade accountability, warning that even a TRO on the watchlist order issued by DOJ would leave a “permanent black eye” on the integrity of the Supreme Court.
“Allowing the Arroyos to leave would bolster persistent suspicion that the Supreme Court is an Arroyo court,” the former solon said, who earlier declared her support for the travel ban on the Arroyos. “It would only serve to continue Arroyo’s legacy of damaging political institutions, a process that could be reversed if only the SC would allow justice to prevail.”
“Giving the Arroyos a TRO is like giving thieves their parole certificate even prior to their arrest, conviction and detention. Consider the Arroyos gone the moment they leave the country,” she added.
Hontiveros said that there’s a compelling reason for the Arroyos to leave the Philippines permanently, and it is not GMA’s medical condition. “The wheels of justice and accountability have begun to turn, and they can now feel that the Aquino administration is serious about its anti-corruption agenda,” she said.
Legal basis for DOJ order
The former congresswoman belied the Arroyo camp’s claim that the watchlist order has no basis.
“The watchlist order has a clear legal basis, a policy that was established and enforced ironically by the former administration. The Arroyos didn’t find it unconstitutional when they enforced Department Circular No. 41, which grants DOJ the authority to issue travel bans and watchlist orders based on cases that are still pending before government prosecution offices,” Hontiveros pointed out.
“The Arroyos want special treatment from the government. They’ve grown comfortable with the accoutrements of power such that they think they deserve to be exempted from our policies and laws, even those that they themselves created. They want to be treated with velvet gloves,” she said.
No reason to leave
The Akbayan spokesperson asserted that GMA has no reason to leave the country for medical treatment.
“The Solicitor General was correct in pointing out that even a cursory reading of the letter requests that the Arroyo camp sent to DOJ proves would show that there’s no medical urgency that necessitates travel for GMA to seek treatment abroad,” she said.
“They tried to exaggerate GMA’s condition. They earlier claimed that an irreparable damage would happen within two months if GMA fails to get the treatment she reportedly needed. The two month-period has already lapsed, and even by her spokesperson’s admission, GMA is slowly recovering,” Hontiveros said.
“They even went as far as showing an old picture to paint a weak and seemingly immobile GMA. But when prodded, her spokesperson admitted that GMA could actually roam around her house and play with her grand children,” Hontiveros said.
“Let this be a moral lesson for the little girl who cried wolf. The public knows that she is sick, though the extent of her sickness is questionable. We sympathize with her, but she must also realize that the public could only sympathize so much with a person who repeatedly lied to the nation,” Hontiveros said. ###
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