Hey, we didn’t know that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte had served as presidential consultant on public order during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
With that, it comes as no surprise that Duterte has declared that if elected as President, he would release Arroyo from detention.
“Duterte made the declaration at a recent gathering of the group Friends of Rody Duterte in San Fernando, Pampanga,” reports Justine Dizon in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Duterte stated, “If I am elected President, I will release her. Why? Because the evidence [against her] is weak. I know that. I am a lawyer.”
He added: “If [the prosecution] is not ready, every time the case is called for hearing, [the court] should dismiss [the charges] because [the delay also] delays justice.”
The report noted: “Arroyo, who has been detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) for charges of electoral fraud and plunder, holds the seat of the 2nd District of Pampanga province in the House of Representatives.
“Arroyo was arrested in 2011 on electoral fraud charges in connection with the 2007 elections, but was allowed bail in 2012.
“Before she could be freed, however, the Sandiganbayan ordered her arrest on charges of plunder, involving alleged misuse of PHP366 million in intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office when she was President.
“The 112th Branch of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court has yet to open Arroyo’s trial for electoral fraud. She has won an order from the Supreme Court temporarily stopping her trial for plunder.”
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