|
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Arroyo Cabinet to discuss Erap house arrest
MANILA -- Officials of President Arroyo's government is set to discuss the merits of having deposed President Joseph Estrada placed under house arrest, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chair Michael Defensor said Tuesday.
Of six Cabinet members asked about the matter, Defensor said three were in favor, two were against, while one abstained. He did not identify the Cabinet secretaries.
He admitted that the Cabinet's involving itself with the issue would raise many eyebrows but pointed out that its act only showed the openness and sincerity of government to pursue the path of reconciliation with the other political sphere in the country.
Estrada is facing plunder charges for allegedly receiving grease money from gambling lords, apart from his alleged irregular transactions involving the Social Security System (SSS) that shortchanged the government.
Arroyo spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao clarified Tuesday the President would not want to interfere in the reported snowballing move to allow a house arrest for her predecessor.
"The matter on Estrada's house arrest or even a Christmas furlough cannot be discussed by the President's executive branch in recognition of the separation of powers," Tiglao said Tuesday in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo after a Cabinet meeting.
Tiglao said only the Sandiganbayan could decide on whether to allow a house arrest for Estrada instead of his being detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.
Estrada was transferred to the hospital from where he was originally detained at the Santa Rosa headquarters of the Special Action Force.
The transfer was a concession granted by the government to the ailing ex-president.
"There is a law. If you are following the law, you cannot just change it by consensus. It is the Sandiganbayan that would have to rule concerning the former president's house arrest," Tiglao said.
Even if Arroyo wishes it, she cannot just meddle with the functions of the judicial branch, pointed out Tiglao.
Defensor visited Estrada at his detention cell but it was at his personal capacity, added Tiglao.
The visit, according to Tiglao, was purely done on the initiative of Defensor and did not reflect the official stand of Arroyo on the house arrest issue.
"You must remember that Mike Defensor was one of the firsts who filed the impeachment proceedings against Estrada," Tiglao said.
Defensor admitted the matter was not taken up in the Cabinet meeting presided by President Arroyo.
"We have other more pending issues to tackle at the Cabinet meeting like the MWSS (Metropolitan Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System)," he said. He also did not say when the Cabinet was set to tackle the proposal to place Estrada under house arrest.
Defensor's move stirred up a storm among those opposed to the idea of placing Estrada under house arrest. The Plunder Watch has, in fact, accused Defensor of lawyering for the deposed leader. They also said Arroyo was using Estrada to improve her popularity ratings.
A very recent Pulse Asia survey showed President Arroyo's popularity rating plunging and her chances of winning in the 2004 elections waning as well.
The unrest over the issue was what Arroyo reportedly earlier described to Defensor as possible fall-out of the proposal to have Estrada placed under house arrest.
Defensor said Arroyo acknowledged that, although there are significant sectors now asking to have Estrada jailed in his house at Polk Street in San Juan, those opposed would likely raise hell over the matter.
He also said Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman would lead the discussion concerning the house arrest issue, particularly on the details of its actual implementation.
"I agree that there be a very substantive consensus, not absolute but a substantial understanding should be reached before President Arroyo makes the decision. It is still a leadership question, it is still a presidential decision taking into consideration the entire country," Defensor said. Joshua Dancel |
|
|
|
 |
| click
to comment on this article or discuss it with other readers |
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
NPA leader seeks stop to gov't offensive