Invite foreign doctors instead of leaving RP, Arroyo asked

Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should invite foreign specialists here instead of leaving the country to seek medical treatment. Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya Jr. and Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares proposed that it would be better for the former president to invite foreign doctors and have her spine examined here.

“We respect her right to seek medical treatment abroad but the state should not renege on its responsibility to seek justice,” Abaya said. But House Deputy Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said Arroyo’s request should be granted out of humanitarian considerations.

“She made a vow to return and that’s enough to allow her request to seek medical treatment abroad,” he said. Should the government grant her petition, Abaya said Arroyo should only be allowed in countries where the Philippines has extradition treaty to make sure that she will be here to face the charges filed against her.

“I fully agree that there is a need to balance both interests. The health of the former president is imbued with public interest. It is important that her actual medical condition be carefully assessed. Her health and safety are equally as important as her accountability for her acts,” Abaya stressed.

Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus said the government should ignore the request of Arroyo after Dr. Mario Ver, the former president’s orthopedic surgeon, claimed that the latter’s condition has remarkably improved.

“If GMA’s (Arroyo’s initials) health is now okay, there is no more reason for her to leave,” De Jesus said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, for his part, also yesterday suggested to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima a “Solomonic” solution in addressing Arroyo’s request to seek medical treatment abroad. He stressed that while Arroyo should be allowed to seek the best medical treatment for her spine and neck problems, she should also do her part to make sure the proceedings in the charges against her are not delayed by her absence.

“My unsolicited advice to Secretary De Lima is to do a King Solomon: Allow former President Arroyo to leave for treatment abroad but only after she has submitted her counter-affidavit on the electoral sabotage and plunder case that she is being accused of, so as not to derail the preliminary investigations being conducted by the DoJ (Department of Justice) prosecutors,” he said.

“This way, her absence cannot delay the filing of information in court and the subsequent issuance of warrants of arrest against her by the court in case probable cause is established,” he said.

Currently, the DoJ is still studying a request by Arroyo to seek medical treatment abroad. Arroyo faces possible charges, including electoral fraud in the 2007 elections. Earlier reports indicated Arroyo had appealed that she be allowed to seek medical treatment abroad on the promise that she would return.

Arroyo had obtained permission from the House of Representatives to travel to Singapore, Spain, Germany, Italy and the United States from Oct. 22 to December. She plans to seek treatment for “hypoparathyroidism,” a condition caused by lack of calcium production in the body, which has aggravated her neck and spine problems. But on Friday, De Lima said Arroyo would have to spend All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days in the Philippines as the DoJ was not likely to decide on her request until this coming week. PNA -- Gerry Baldo