Arroyo camp: Escape scenario just product of De Lima’s imagination

The camp of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday maintained that Mrs. Arroyo has no plans of fleeing from the charges against her, and that the "escape scenario" is just a “figment" of Justice chief Leila de Lima’s imagination. Elena Bautista-Horn, Mrs. Arroyo’s spokesperson, insisted the former President’s plan to go abroad is only for medical purposes.
“Mayroon na kaming kasulatan. Nakanotaryo po iyan kung saan sinabi ng dating Pangulong Arroyo na siya ay babalik at haharapin ang mga kaso," she said in an interview on GMA's News To Go. She made this statement a day after De Lima refused to grant Mrs. Arroyo’s request for an allow departure order to be able to seek treatment abroad for her hypoparathyroidism and bone mineral disorder. Bautista-Horn added that the Department of Justice's move only showed how the "helplessness" of the Aquino administration in this kind of situation. “Ang dami nilang options. Sila ang nakaupo. All the powers are with them. They should not appear helpless,… but they do not have the power to curtail a person’s right to travel," she said. She likewise insisted that their camp has been very transparent about Mrs. Arroyo’s travel destinations and purpose in going abroad. “Nag-comply po kami sa requirements, pero tuwing makacomply kami, makakaisip sila ng iba pang requirements," she said. Bautista-Horna also demanded a copy of Health Secretary Enrique Ona’s diagnosis on Mrs. Arroyo, as well as a list of specialists in bone diseases from the Philippine Medical Association. — LBG, GMA News