MANILA, Philippines – Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s hospital bill at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City has reached more than P120,000.
The VMMC reported that the running total of Mrs. Arroyo’s stay at the hospital is now at P126,661.21. The former president was transferred to the VMMC from the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City on Dec. 9, 2011.
Of the said amount, Mrs. Arroyo’s electrical consumption at the hospital was already at P65,635.43 and medical procedures done on the former president reached P52,547.
The amount is being shouldered by …

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay is the most appreciated and trusted while Chief Justice Renato Corona has the lowest approval and trust rating among top government officials, according to Pulse Asia’s November 2011 Ulat ng Bayan survey released yesterday.
Corona had a low approval rating even though the Supreme Court together with the Senate emerged as the most appreciated and trusted government institutions.
The survey, taken from Nov. 10 to 23 – at the height of the controversy over the high tribunal’s issuance of a temporary restraining order on the …

MANILA, Philippines – Former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo wants the Supreme Court to nullify the filing of electoral sabotage raps and the subsequent warrant of arrest against his wife, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In an urgent petition filed before the Court, Arroyo is asking the SC to declare all the actions of the Joint Department of Justice-Commission on Elections fact finding and preliminary investigation committee to be illegal.
This includes the filing of information which was basis for last Friday’s issuance of a warrant of arrest.
“All the acts so far performed …

MANILA, Philippines – Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is seeking to travel overseas from October to December for medical treatment.
A document from the Office of the Secretary General shows that Artemio Adasa Jr. has endorsed to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs Arroyo’s travel authority (TA).
The travel authority is an amendment of the one granted by House Speaker Sonny Belmonte to Arroyo originally dated September 16, 2011 for travel last September 18 to October 11.
The amended travel authority is dated October 19, 2011 and labeled as a 1st endorsement.
The amended TA reads, …

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
2:00 am | Saturday, October 8th, 2011
With the possibility raised that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband could be in jail on nonbailable charges by Christmas, some lawmakers are wondering whether the couple will do “a Thaksin” or “an Erap,” (Joseph Estrada).
“They may likely do a Thaksin,” said Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao.
“The possibility [of seeking political asylum] is strong considering that the charges against them, ranging from plunder to electoral sabotage, are nonbailable offenses,” he said.
Aggabao was referring to Thaksin Shinawatra, the former …

KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA News
09/13/2011 | 10:48 AM
Photo Credit: Here
A former Shari’a court judge has admitted helping distribute alleged bribe money to help then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo win the 2004 presidential polls.
During Tuesday’s Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the PNP choppers mess, Judge Nagamura Moner said that on May 13, 2004, former Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) director general Alfonso Cusi called him up to help Mrs. Arroyo.
“I received a call from Alfonso Cusi (at) about 9:30 p.m. telling me that I should go to Cotabato City, Tawi-Tawi, and …

MANILA, Philippines – The doctors of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo have advised the ailing congresswoman to seek medical treatment in the United States or Singapore, her spokesperson Atty. Raul Lambino said.
According to Lambino, however, Arroyo chooses to remain in the Philippines to quash speculations that she is avoiding the plunder charges filed against her.
“Sensitive siya sa public opinion e. Sinasabi niya, ‘Kapag ako umalis sa bansa, sasabihin nila tinatakbuhan ko itong accusations against me.’ To the extent of maybe putting her life in danger,” said …

By FRANCIS T. WAKEFIELD
August 11, 2011, 6:39pm
MANILA, Philippines — Former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been fitted with a “halo vest” to support her brittle cervical spine, doctors at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City said Thursday.
In a media briefing, Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes, Arroyo’s personal physician, said a team of doctors led by veteran orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mario Ver put the halo vest, also known as a halo ring or crown, to immobilize the cervical spine.
“She is now conscious and staying at the Coronary …

Former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, who was linked to a growing scandal involving second-hand helicopters sold to the Philippine National Police (PNP), on Monday laughed off claims that he has sought asylum in Portugal, which does not have an extradition treaty with the Philippines.
Mr. Arroyo, who is in Hong Kong, said he is planning to return to Manila before noon Monday.
“Makikita nila, babalik ako,” Mr. Arroyo said in an interview on dzXL radio.
Earlier, Mr. Arroyo was reported to be planning to take a 9:00 a.m. Cathay Pacific flight for …

MANILA, Philippines – The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) lawyer, who committed suicide after being caught up in an investigation into alleged anomalous transactions of the bank, was laid to rest on Saturday.
Benjamin Pinpin was buried at Loyola Memorial Park in Parañaque City past 4 p.m. following a requiem mass at the Holy Trinity Memorial Chapel around 12 noon.
Pinpin’s funeral service was attended by his family, friends and co-workers, who wore black clothes to mourn his death.
Pinpin was found dead in a bathroom of a hotel room in Las …

By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star)
Updated August 06, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines – Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was discharged yesterday from St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City a week after undergoing cervical spine surgery.
But her doctors said she would continue to be under close medical watch.
Arroyo left the SLMC in the morning but did not face reporters staking out in the hospital hallway. SLMC management, however, provided media with photos showing the former chief executive wearing a neck brace and a red dress while being …

By JONAS REYES
August 5, 2011, 6:46pm
IBA, Zambales, Philippines
“He was like a son to me.”
This was how Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. described Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago, former Zambales police director-turned whistleblower on alleged switching of election returns (ER) allegedly to favor former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, during a press conference at the Capitol here.
According to the teary-eyed governor, Santiago was like family. He even disclosed that he became Santiago’s godfather during his wedding.
Ebdane said Santiago has burned bridges with him and has very much destroyed the ties that bind them.
Santiago …

Gov’t needs smoking gun-type of witnesses, says IPER
MANILA, Philippines – The think-tank Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms (IPER) believes that the 2004 and 2007 poll fraud witnesses, their testimonies, and their evidence are not enough to muster a strong guilty verdict against the alleged masterminds, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and husband Mike Arroyo.
IPER Executive Director Ramon Casiple said what the government needs are smoking gun-type of witnesses who had direct participation and an eyewitness to the Arroyos physically orchestrating the election fraud.
He said this could include hearing the …

Resigned Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri urged former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo to respond to allegations of cheating during the 2007 elections.
“May mga alegasyon na lumalabas [at] dapat sagutin nila ‘yan. Kaya naman nilang sagutin iyan, mayroon naman silang mga abugado,” said Zubiri in an interview aired Thursday on GMA News’ “24 Oras.”
Thursday at the Department of Justice (DOJ), former Police Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago submitted his sworn affidavit on the alleged operation to switch election returns (ER) from the 2004 presidential …

MANILA, Philippines — A new witness appeared and pointed to former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo as having allegedly ordered the sale of two second-hand helicopters as brand new to the Philippine National Police (PNP), a witness told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
In his testimony before the blue ribbon committee, Hilario de Vera, president and general manager of Manila Aerospace Products Trading Corporation (MAPTRA), said that Arroyo’s name was mentioned in one of his meetings with Archibald Po, president of the Lionair Incorporated.
Lionair Inc is the exclusive distributor of Robinson …

by Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News
Posted at 08/01/2011 12:29 PM | Updated as of 08/01/2011 12:32 PM
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DOJ) will issue a watch list order against former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano today.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told reporters on Monday that Garcillano will be placed on the immigration watch list.
“In the side of caution and because it [placing Garcillano on watch list] involves national interest,” De Lima said.
This means Garcillano cannot leave the country without permission from the government.
Garcillano got involved in the “Hello, Garci” 2004 …

FERNANDO Poe Jr. won the 2004 presidential elections, said Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes, who was the former legal counsel of the late action king.
“Alam ko kung sino talaga ang nanalo, si FPJ. Ako ang abogado ni FPJ. Ipinaglaban ko ng husto yan. Kaya lang ang alam ko (I know who really won – it’s FPJ. I am the lawyer of FPJ. I fought hard for it. What I know) is personal and in my heart. I don’t have the evidence to show it,” said Brillantes, who used …

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima may soon order the Bureau of Immigration to place her erstwhile boss, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, on its watch list to keep the current Pampanga legislator in the country as she faces the charges filed against her.
Speaking to reporters, De Lima said that as head of the Department of Justice, she has the prerogative to issue watch list orders against subjects of government inquiries.
“She (Arroyo) is now a subject of several investigations not just in the DOJ, but also the allegations that have cropped up …

House allies of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo urged their colleagues in Congress to avoid “trial by publicity” during congressional inquiries a day after the suicide of former Defense chief Angelo Reyes who was accused of corruption in a Senate probe.
“The death by suicide by former Armed Forces chief of staff Angelo Reyes sends the message to legislators to desist from engaging in trial by publicity,” House minority leader Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Lagman added that Reyes “possibly could not bear his own and his …

Former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whom Angelo Reyes helped catapult to Malacañang in 2001, on Tuesday urged Filipinos to recognize Reyes’ “patriotic” service as a soldier and government official.
“He served the country well in uniform and in the halls of government, particularly in a critical moment in our history when our people called for radical reform of governance,” Mrs. Arroyo said in a statement issued through her spokesperson, Maria Elena Bautista-Horn.
Mrs. Arroyo said she was saddened by Reyes’ “tragic” death. She praised him for his “courage and …

The Aquino administration Wednesday asked the Sandiganbayan to revoke its approval of the plea bargain between former military comptroller Carlos Garcia and state prosecutors—a compromise Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and a veteran lawyer branded as smacking of a “midnight deal” under then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In motions seeking to intervene in the case, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) asked the anti-graft court to set aside its May 4, 2010 resolution that would allow Garcia to escape charges of plunder for allegedly stealing P303 million from the state coffers.
The …

A party-list lawmaker on Monday urged House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to initiate moves to expel from Congress Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson, who is facing a drug-related case in Hong Kong.
Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, himself facing an ethics complaint at the House of Representatives, said Belmonte should treat the issue with an iron fist to save the chamber’s image.
“It’s the responsibility of the (House) leadership to file charges,” said Bello.
Singson, son of Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, was arrested at the Chek Lap Kok International Airport in July last …

A younger-looking Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo made heads turn in Congress and on the world wide web this week.
The former chief executive, known for her short, side-swept do and no-nonsense style, sported on Tuesday her wavy dark brown hair which covered her nape.
The new look complemented her earth-tone makeup and her long bell-sleeved blouse with black buttons.
House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman, a known Arroyo ally, noted that she looks more relaxed after ending her term as president early this year.
“The burden of the highest office of the land is not …

“Downright stupid.”
This was the reaction of former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo’s son to allegations that the decision of the Supreme Court declaring as unconstitutional the Truth Commission was meant to shield her mother from investigation of graft charges against her.

Representative Juan Miguel ‘Mikey’ Arroyo of the Ang Galing Pinoy partylist said critics should not use Arroyo, now a Pampanga province congresswoman, as scapegoat for the Aquino administration’s “flawed” executive order that created the truth body.
“This is downright stupid. The Supreme Court decision had nothing to do with GMA (Arroyo’s initials). …

I got a call from a former comrade, they are now converging on the streets of the EDSA, waiting for the imminent yet another uprising to unfold.
I was inside the former US base where I currently hold my office. It was another period of turmoil and political uncertainty. Then Philippine President Erap Estrada is facing impeachment charges at the floors of the Senate.
I wanted to go to the capital, and join the ongoing protests. But something I felt at that time was out of line. The dreams of the …