Akbayan Party today vehemently opposes the move of the House Minority to place former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo under the protective custody of the House of Representatives, as these efforts may thwart the Filipino people’s quest for justice.
“The people’s right to justice must take precedence over the right of a single individual. The Minority should stop treating this House as if it were a shelter for crooks, plunderers, and criminals,” Akbayan Representative Kaka Bag-ao said.
“If there is anything that needs protection from this august chamber, it is the rule of law that is now being bastardized by the machinations of the people that GMA has put in key positions during her incumbency as president,” Bag-ao added.
Bag-ao said she sees no reason why there is a need for such ‘special treatment,’ as the charges of electoral sabotage filed against the former president is being done through a fair and legitimate judicial process, not out-and-out political persecution.
“If there is any danger that GMA should be afraid of, it is the huge possibility of a conviction and jail term as she is being made to answer for the crimes that was committed during her reign of impunity,” Bag-ao said.
For his part, Akbayan Representative Walden Bello argued that Gloria has no right to special treatment.
"A hospital arrest is better than protective custody. But if there is fear of real threats to her well being, the DOJ can simply increase its complement of PNP and DOJ personnel providing security for her," Bello said.
Bello also pointed out that it would be unwise to bring Arroyo to Batasan, to be in especially close proximity of her staunchest allies.
"At a time when all of Gloria's escape routes are blocked off, bringing GMA to Congress would open a little window of opportunity for her to plot her final escape," Bello explained. "Congressional security could not even detect the the switching of ballot boxes of the 2004 elections that were stored at the House, what chance would they have against people determined to help Gloria escape, especially that the Minority might provide insider assistance for this? The House simply is not tailored to serve as a detention center."
“In these times when our commitment to the ‘daang matuwid’ is being tested, the House leadership must unwaveringly show our people that it is on the side of truth and justice by preventing any issuance of a protective custody in favor of GMA,” Bag-ao concluded. ###
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