Palace: Ex-Pres. Arroyo may be allowed to seek medical treatment abroad

Malacañang on Thursday said it will allow former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who has been diagnosed with a bone disorder and is confined at a hospital, to seek medical treatment abroad “as a humanitarian gesture." At a press briefing Thursday, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said they only need recommendation from the doctors and request from the Arroyo family. “If the medical doctors find it necessary and the Arroyo family would request it from us, as a humanitarian gesture, of course," Lacierda told reporters when asked if Malacañang is keen on heeding any request for Arroyo to be flown out of the country for treatment. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has placed Arroyo, now a congresswoman representing the second district of Pampanga, on the Immigration watch list in connection with the plunder cases filed against her with the department. Persons on travel watch list need to ask permission first from the government before traveling abroad. “If there [are] no medical facilities or medical expertise available in the Philippines, we will not deprive the Arroyo family of getting the best medical attention they can do," Lacierda said. But he immediately added that St Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City, where Arroyo is currently confined, already said that it can handle the former President’s medical needs. Asked what they would do if Arroyo asks to go to a country where the Philippines does not have an extradition agreement, Lacierda said they will just wait for the request to be made first before giving an answer. Lacierda, however, said the cases filed against Arroyo will be pursued even if she is seeking medical attention abroad. “Tuloy po ang investigation. Nasa Ombudsman [na yung mga kaso]. Nag-file na rin ng counter-affidavit si former President sa I think DOJ yun," he said. Arroyo underwent cervical spine surgery last July 29 at St. Luke's Medical Center where titanium implants and bone substitute were used to rebuild her spine. She underwent revision surgery last Aug. 10 after doctors found out that the implants had been dislodged due to what they first thought was infection. On Wednesday, Arroyo’s physician Juliet Cervantes said they later found out that the problem was not infection but hypoparathyroidism, an endocrine disorder that leads to decreased levels of parathyroid hormone and affects bone structure. Arroyo is set to undergo a third surgery next week. — KBK, GMA News