MANILA, Philippines — The Palace said that while “due respect” should be given to former President Arroyo, it is leaving it up to the Pasay Regional Trial Court to decide on her petition for bail or where she should be detained, media reported Friday. “It will be up to the presiding judge that is handling the case, that will be Judge (Jesus) Mupas of Pasay City RTC 112, on how he will take into consideration the position of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile as he resolves the pending petition for bail of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,” she said. “We have always been in the position that due respect should be accorded to the former president because of her health condition,” she added. Enrile has called on the Aquino administration late Thursday to show compassion to Arroyo by reconsidering its reported plan to move her from a government hospital to an ordinary detention facility. Enrile said Arroyo's condition remains critical. “I heard she can't eat anymore and she's only taking liquid and that doctors are avoiding her. I think if something happens to her, it's going to be a big issue,” he said. Enrile noted that even then president Ferdinand Marcos allowed Aquino's father and namesake, Sen. Ninoy Aquino, to undergo heart surgery in the United States. Enrile was Marcos' defense minister. “I'm not saying that we treat Mrs. Arroyo exactly the same way, but we really need to consider her poor health. You know, Filipinos would always sympathize with the dead,” he said. — Agencies
