Lawyer: Call for probe on Arroyo husband baseless

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo dismissed Friday a call to have President Arroyo investigate her husband over alleged bribery that marred World Bank-funded projects. Mr. Arroyo's lawyer, Ruy Rondain, said there was no new evidence to back the call of Sen. Manuel Roxas II call for an "independent" body to investigate the First Gentleman. "We have not seen any new evidence, just the supposed World Bank report. So there's no new evidence to add to the claims made earlier by Sen. Panfilo Lacson. So Roxas' challenge is baseless," Rondain said in an interview on dzXL radio. He also reminded Roxas that any evidence on the matter should not be mere hearsay but should be able to stand in court. On Thursday, Roxas urged Mrs. Arroyo to "act to save the country's corrupt image in the international political arena," and that such move should start with an order to investiagate her husband. He said this could also be a test of Mrs. Arroyo's sincerity in removing corruption. - GMANews.TV