CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is praying that the late former chief justice Renato Corona “will now find the justice and fairness that was denied him in this life.”
Corona died of cardiac arrest on April 29.
Arroyo’s message was posted on the Facebook account of her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo.
The message read: “Your honor, Chief Justice Renato Corona, our beloved colleague and friend, we and the nation thank you for honoring us with everything you have been, and everything you have done, for justice, the rule of law, the rights and welfare of the people, and the advancement of our motherland.
“You can finally rest in peace, CJ,” it added.
Arroyo has remained in detention at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) amid a plunder case filed against her. ?Corona was impeached on Dec. 12, 2011. He was the third official, after former president Joseph Estrada in 2000 and ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in March 2011, to be impeached by the House of Representatives.
He was accused of failing to disclose certain assets in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.
Corona was appointed by Arroyo as chief justice on May 12, 2010, within the election period that bans midnight appointments.
GMA to vote in Pampanga
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court (SC) has granted Arroyo another furlough.
In special session yesterday, the high court justices decided to allow the detained former leader to vote in her hometown of Lubao, Pampanga during the May 9 elections.
An insider bared that the high court granted Arroyo’s motion and allowed her to leave the VMMC and travel on election day to Pampanga, where she is running for a third and last congressional term.
Arroyo is allowed to vote in the precinct where her name is registered by 7 a.m. on the condition that she would immediately return to the VMMC after voting on the same day, according to the source.
The SC also prohibited Arroyo from making any campaign sorties in her hometown.
The high tribunal earlier granted relief to Arroyo and allowed her to celebrate her 69th birthday with her family in their residence at La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City last April 5.
In December last year, the SC also granted relief to Arroyo by approving her plea for a holiday furlough and allowing her to spend Christmas and New Year with her family in their Quezon City residence. – With Edu Punay