GMA walks free as SC dismisses plunder case
By: InterAksyon.com
Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
(UPDATE 6 - 9:42 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court has junked the plunder case against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over the alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds, her lawyer told media Tuesday.
This was confirmed soon after by Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te who, reading from the dispositive portion of the ruling granting Arroyo's petition for demurrer of evidence, said the high court dismissed the case against the former president and also ordered her "immediate release."
According to Te, the SC en banc voted to dismiss the case because the prosecution presented weak evidence.
He also confirmed that the tribunal voted 11-4, with the dissenting votes cast by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Justices Marvic Leonen and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.
The 69-year old Arroyo, detained for nearly three years at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City, is suffering from a slew of ailments, mostly triggered by her spinal problem.
Arroyo in her plea had asked the high court to reverse two Sandiganbayan resolutions dated April 6, 2015 and September 10, 2015 that denied her petition for demurrer to evidence.
A demurrer to evidence is in effect a motion to dismiss filed by the accused after the prosecution has finished its presentation of evidence. It is filed by a party that believes that the evidence presented is insufficient.
The evidence against her was weak, said the ex-president through her lawyers. She argued that "not a single exhibit of the 637 exhibits offered by the prosecution nor a single testimony of the 21 witnesses of the prosecution was offered by the prosecution to prove that [Arroyo] amassed, accumulated, or acquired even a single peso of the alleged ill-gotten wealth."
The prosecution also failed to show or detail the paper trail to prove that Arroyo committed the charges she was indicted for, said the Pampanga lawmaker.
Arroyo's co-accused in the plunder case had already been granted bail by the anti-graft court: PCSO General Manager and Vice Chairman Rosario Uriarte; Directors Manuel Morato, Jose Taruc, Raymundo Roquero and Ma. Fatima Valdes; Budget and Accounts Manager Benigno Aguas; Commission on Audit Chairman Reynaldo Villar; and the former chief of COA’s CIF Fraud Audit Unit, Nilda Plaras.
Through her lawyer Estelito Mendoza had also urged the SC in October 2015 to throw out the plunder case against her and allow her to post bail.
SC stopped Sandigan trial
Before the ruling, the tribunal had stopped the Sandiganbayan from trying the case as it heard Arroyo's petition.
Lambino told News5 that Arroyo's lawyers are now processing the paperwork for her release.
He said the high court found no evidencce linking Arroyo, who is serving her second term as representative of Pampanga's second district, to the alleged plunder of the PCSO funds.
Although her co-accused -- all former executives of the PCSO -- were granted bail, Arroyo remained detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.
Reacting to the verdict, Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel, said: "Thank God. They took away six years of her life -- an innocent woman."
"We're very happy," he added.
His spokesman, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, also issued a statement on behalf of Mr. Arroyo saying the high court "has once again proven itself to be the final bastion of justice and the rule of law" and blasting the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III.
"Its ruling today has validated what we have been saying for six years now: that the charges against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are nothing more than disingenuous attempts at political persecution by a corrupt and inept Aquino Administration intent on covering up its gross lack of accomplishments by harassing its political opponents," Topacio’s statement said.
He also said the assumption of the Duterte administration "has brought about new hope for great positive change, which includes freedom from false and malicious accusations and unceasing lies and disinformation. We all join the new government in its fight against criminality, corruption and its economic and political reforms that will surely usher in a new golden age for our country and people."
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the decision of the Supreme Court clearing former President now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on P366-M graft charges she filed in 2011.
"It's a sad day for justice," Hontiveros said in a statement.
Hontiveros, along with former Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and social activist Jimmy Regalario, filed the PCSO plunder cases before the Ombudsman in 2011.
Hontiveros pointed out that the Ombudsman confirmed the diversion of funds from PCSO's operating budget to the confidential or intelligence fund, which could be withdrawn or accessed any time and with few restrictions.
"The Ombudsman also confirmed that the funds were converted, misused and illegally transferred in the guise of fictitious expenditures."
For his part, Sen. Joel Villanueva said: "It is what it is, we have to respect the rule of law. That is how our justice system works. It would be interesting, though, for me to read the court decision first before commenting on it."
Militant lawmakers expressed disappointment. Kabataan partylist Rep. Sarah Elago said Arroyo's eventual release "casts a dark shadow over the Philippine justice system."
"As a great man once said, history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. Remember how the Marcoses were able to evade prosecution all these decades despite everything? Remember how former President Estrada was simply pardoned for committing crimes against the nation? Now another president will go scot-free, all thanks to her remaining appointees in the Supreme Court and the government's lackadaisical handling of her case," Elago said.
However, Quezon City Rep. and former Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he was happy for Arroyo. "Finally, she's out of this problem," he said.
Prospero Nograles, who was Speaker during Arroyo's term, said Arroyo can now join the sessions anew and share her expertise, especially on economic issues.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said the administration of Benigno Aquino III only used Arroyo "as an excuse for his inefficiency and ineptitude in governance, and pursued charges against Arroyo only for show."
"We are reminding the Supreme Court that the Arroyo government left behind 1,206 victims of political killings and 206 victims of enforced disappearances among activists, peasants, and human rights workers," Palabay said.
Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna, a lawyer based in Davao City, said he was "extremely disappointed. More could have been done to strengthen the case and make the former President accountable. But, unfortunately, it seems that the previous Aquino administration was merely contented in keeping her politically paralyzed for the past six years rather than obtaining a conviction."
(With reports from Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Ernie Reyes, Brian Maglungsod, Diego Mora, InterAksyon.com)
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