Ally doubts passage of Arroyo medical parole bill

AN ALLY of former President and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo doesn't see her bill seeking to grant medical parole to qualified prisoners getting approved in the present Congress due to lack of material time.

Arroyo, who is under hospital arrest over plunder charges, recently filed House Bill (HB) 6608 or the Medical Parole Act of 2012 authorizing the Board of Pardons and Parole under the Department of Justice to grant medical parole to ill prisoners "as a gesture of mercy and compassion."

"First of all, the bill of the former President will not be passed… Like what I said, with the material time that's left with the 15th Congress, I really doubt it," House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said.

Suarez doubts that the measure will be prioritized considering that other important pending bills, including the controversial reproductive health bill and the Palace-backed bill amending the Anti-Money Laundering Law, are set to be tackled next month.

The House of Representatives will resume sessions on November 5 after a two-week Halloween break. It will go on break again on December 21.

In the proposed law Arroyo filed with her son, Camarines Sur Representative Diosdado "Dato" Arroyo, the former President asked her colleagues in Congress to ensure its "expeditious passage."

In case the former President is jailed for plunder by the Sandiganbayan, she may benefit from her proposed law. Arroyo had undergone three cervical spine surgeries in the past year.

Suarez meanwhile defended Arroyo from criticisms that her proposed law is self-serving, saying the former President feels for those ill prisoners who suffer in jail.

Under the proposed Medical Parole Act of 2012, the Board of Pardons and Parole may release a prisoner on medical parole if he or she suffers from an incapacitating physical condition, disease or syndrome. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)