Former President and reelectionist Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will spend Christmas at the Veterans’ Memorial Medical Center after the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court turned down a request for her to go home to Pampanga.
Kathrina Alvarez of Sun.Star Online reports the Sandiganbayan turned down the request because doing so would show partiality for Arroyo. "The Court is not persuaded. Curtailment of freedom and confinement in a detention center, prison or jail is a necessary consequence of being charged with a non-bailable offense," the court said in its resolution.
Arroyo has been detained at the VMMC after the court ordered her arrested over the alleged misuse of P366 million in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office intelligence funds.
House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, an Arroyo ally, called the decision sad news. "She’s only accused and she's not even a security risk," he said.
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