GMA camp: Accepting Noy offer may jeopardize SC petition

MANILA, Philippines - Accepting the offer of President Aquino to bring in foreign doctors to treat former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at government expense would jeopardize her petition before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to nullify the watchlist order (WLO) issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against her, her spokesperson said yesterday.

Ma. Elena Bautista-Horn said the offer to fly in medical specialists for Arroyo was just for media mileage by Malacañang, to make it appear that the administration was humane. Bautista-Horn said the move backfired.

“If we accept the offer (of Aquino), it is as if she (Arroyo) already surrendered her constitutionally guaranteed right to travel, which is the very issue raised by her lawyers in their petition,” Bautista-Horn said.

Arroyo’s lawyers petitioned the SC earlier this week to nullify the WLO slapped on her due to the plunder complaints filed against the former chief executive. Arroyo is also facing charges of electoral sabotage.

The lawyers argued that only the courts can prevent a person from leaving the country.

“A person has also the right to choose where and when to seek medical treatment and from whom,” Bautista-Horn said as she reiterated that Arroyo felt it would be selfish of her to grab the offer and not uphold the right of citizens to travel.

Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel, said the insistence of the President and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to deny permission to his wife to seek medical treatment abroad would only ensure their defeat before the SC.

He said Aquino wanted the Arroyos behind bars at all costs, even if the Constitution is violated in the process.

Mrs. Arroyo’s lawyer, Christian Diaz, earlier said Aquino would also be hard-pressed to justify using taxpayers’ money to pay for her private doctors.

“More importantly, it (offer) disregards the schedules of the doctors and assumes that they are willing to come here to treat one patient and leave their patients. The Bill of Rights cannot be subordinate to a general claim of national interest or exercise of police power that is Constitutional Law 101,” Diaz said.

Litigious country

Maverick Sen. Joker Arroyo, a human rights lawyer during the martial law regime, expressed concern yesterday over the Aquino administration’s decision to disallow Mrs. Arroyo from seeking treatment abroad.

“This is worrisome as it is unfortunate. We have become a very litigious country. And strangely, the government encourages that unhealthy trend,” Arroyo said.

Arroyo noted the overriding issue of human rights which is “over and above the weighty constitutional issue of the right to travel.”

Meanwhile, lawyer Oliver Lozano said the proposal of President Aquino to bring in foreign doctors to treat Arroyo is illegal and an insult to medical practitioners in the country.

“Whoever advised the President on this matter is mentally dishonest because foreigners must first secure a license before they can practice medical and other professions in the country,” he said.

He said the offer made by Aquino to Arroyo, which includes the government spending for the treatment, is also an insult to medical practitioners who are as capable as their foreign counterparts in providing treatment to Arroyo.



‘SC to allow GMA travel’

For his part, Rep. Neri Colmenares of the party-list group Bayan Muna predicted yesterday that the Supreme Court will decide to allow the travel abroad of Mrs. Arroyo and her husband.

“The Supreme Court will rule in favor of the Arroyos because the watchlist order (WLO) of the DOJ barring them from leaving is really unconstitutional,” he told the Serye Café’ news forum in Quezon City.

“Unfortunately for the nation, the ruling will allow the Arroyos to evade criminal prosecution and make them go scot-free,” he said.

Colmenares, who is a lawyer, said he shares the view of many in legal circles that Malacañang and the DOJ cannot prevent any Filipino from exercising his “constitutional right to travel.”

“Under the Constitution, there are only certain limitations, such as when the exercise of the right to travel would affect national security, public safety and public health. But these limitations have to be provided by law, and so far, no such law has been enacted,” he said.

He added that though Bayan Muna is for keeping the Arroyos here so they could be investigated and tried, his organization cannot change its stand on the unconstitutionality of the WLO.

He also predicted that the Supreme Court will not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Malacañang and the DOJ.

“If they issue a TRO, then the Arroyos will leave immediately because President Aquino and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima will no longer be able to prevent them from leaving. Then, the Supreme Court will no longer have a case to resolve,” he said.

“I think the court will resolve the case as soon as possible in favor of the Arroyos, of course, instead of issuing a TRO,” he said.

Insignificant

The Communist Party of the Philippines, on the other hand, labeled as “insignificant” Malacañang’s refusal to allow Arroyo to seek treatment aboard. The group said such decision could easily be overruled or postponed by the courts.

The CPP also scored the Aquino administration for its failure to file cases against Mrs. Arroyo.

“The Aquino regime has wasted its almost 500 days in office in failing to file a single case against Gloria Arroyo and prosecute her for the high crimes of plunder and electoral fraud as well as war crimes committed against the Filipino people during her nine-year rule,” CPP said in a statement.