黑料社

Former President now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assured Senator Leila De Lima that she would be accorded due process in the House of Representatives probe of the alleged proliferation of drugs in the New Bilibid Prison.

During a press conference of deputy speakers聽on Monday, Arroyo was asked about her position on the resolution filed by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez calling for an investigation in aid of legislation on the alleged drug trade at the national penitentiary during the stint of then justice secretary De Lima.

搁贰础顿:听Alvarez calls for House probe on De Lima over drug problem聽听触听Speaker: House probe to respect De Lima鈥檚 rights
Arroyo said De Lima would be accorded due process unlike her situation before when she was incarcerated for four years due to plunder over the alleged raid of public treasury involving P366-million intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

鈥淚鈥檓 very confident that due process is going to be pursued, unlike the time when I was being persecuted,鈥� Arroyo said with a hint of a smile.

In an interview with ABS-CBN after her release, Arroyo had said she hoped she would be the last one to be persecuted due to politics. Arroyo was incarcerated during the administration of then President Benigno Aquino III, who won the elections on the promise of weeding out corruption in government.

搁贰础顿:听Arroyo: 鈥業 must be last victim鈥� of political persecution

De Lima was implicated in the drug trade at the time she was leading a Senate investigation into the spate of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects allegedly involving rogue police.

President Rodrigo Duterte also released a drug matrix alleging that De Lima and her driver and supposed lover Ronnie Dayan were engaged in the drug trade in Bilibid with Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan and former Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino Jr.
搁贰础顿:听Duterte matrix out; tags聽De聽Lima, ex-Pangasinan gov, others听触听Duterte slams聽De聽Lima, says lover collected drug payoffs for her

Arroyo fulfilled her Congress duties from hospital detention for four years while the Sandiganbayan heard the plunder case against her for聽allegedly diverting P366 million in PCSO intelligence funds intended for charity use for personal gain when she was President.

She was committed to hospital detention as she claimed to be suffering from聽cervical spondylosis, a degenerative disease of the bones and cartilage of the neck.

READ:聽Arroyo walks free after 4 yrs of hospital detention

The Supreme Court in a decision released July dismissed the plunder charge for insufficiency of evidence, noting that Arroyo鈥檚 approval of the P366-million intelligence fund releases was only ministerial and does not constitute an 鈥渙vert act鈥� to commit聽plunder. RAM/rga

搁贰础顿:听SC:聽Arroyo聽OK on fund release not 鈥榦vert act鈥� of聽plunder