Aquino adviser claims no reason to trust Arroyo

(Updated 5:37 p.m.) Presidential adviser for political affairs Ronald Llamas on Wednesday thumbed down the statement of House Deputy Minority Leader Danilo Suarez that the word of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was enough an assurance for the Aquino administration to let her seek medical treatment abroad. Arroyo, now the representative of Pamapanga’s Second District, assured government last week that she would return to the Philippine after her medical treatment. It is understandable if the Filipinos would refrain from trusting and accepting the word of Arroyo, Llamas claimed. “After nine years of her style of leadership characterized by impunity and misgovernance and the numerous cases of plunder and graft being filed against her, I think we will be together with the Filipino people in not giving her our trust," Llamas said. The House of Representatives authorized the former President to travel to five countries, four of which have no extradition treaty with the Philippines, for medical treatment. The option is for foreign medical specialists to check and possibly treat Arroyo in the Philippines, according to the Aquino’s political adviser, citing the suggestion of Bayan Representative Neri Colminares. “That has always been an option, but it’s basically her option if she wants foreign specialists to treat her," Llamas said. Arroyo now faces at least four plunder complaints for alleged misuse of government resources during her 10-year presidency, as well as charges of electoral sabotage for alleged massive cheating in the 2007 polls. Arroyo couple’s 'freedom to travel' In a press statement on Wednesday, the lawyer of Macapagal-Arroyo’s husband stated that their camp does not "recognize the power and authority of the Department of Justice to issue any directive impairing the right of every citizen to freely travel in and out of the country." Atty. Ferdinand Topacio claimed that "[his] client, former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, does not fall" under the constitutional exceptions of the right to travel, adding that "[t]he restriction of our client's Constitutional rights is palpable and brazen." Topacio said the Arroyo camp "... will not apply to the Department for any sort of Allow Departure Order (ADO), and as far as the Department of Justice is concerned, they can take their ADO and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine." "We have lost all hope of being treated fairly and decently by the Executive Department, whose head, the President, has already pronounced our client guilty even without formal proceedings having been instituted," he lamented. "We believe that our succor now lies with the courts." DOJ-COMELEC a 'kangaroo court' "We also appear before the Joint Preliminary Investigation Committee of the DOJ and the COMELEC ad cautelam [to be on the safe side] and without recognizing the legitimacy of it's existence," Topacio said. The lawyer expressed the belief that “that the Joint Commitee of the DOJ and the COMELEC… is nothing but a kangaroo court preordained to persecute our client and his spouse." http://www.gmanews.tv/story/236421/nation/palace-turning-poll-body-into-a-puppet-mike-arroyo39s-lawyer He said that the heads of the poll body and the Justice Department "are far from being impartial and disinterested, having lawyered for parties who have contended that the 2004 and 2007 elections have been visited with fraud." "We refuse to dignify this medieval inquisition and will stop at nothing to protect our client's rights, aware of the adage that "the liberties of none are safe unless the liberties of all are protected," concluded the press statement of Arroyo’s counsel. Topacio had earlier said that "[w]hoever conceived of that joint order [forming the DOJ-COMELEC committee] must have been smoking a joint." — MRT/VS, GMA News