MANILA — Former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo walked out of a government hospital Wednesday where she had been detained for nearly eight months on election rigging charges after a court found that evidence against her was weak and granted bail. The irony may not have been lost on militant groups and some Twitter users. Two days after President Benigno Aquino rejected a “forgive and forget” attitude toward his predecessor, Arroyo was freed on bail. In his State of the Nation Address Monday, Aquino said: “We cannot accept this. Do we just forgive and forget the 10 years that we lost?” He was referring to the almost one-decade rule of Arroyo, whom he has painted as the face of graft and corruption. For Aquino allies, Wednesday's court ruling granting Arroyo bail does not contradict Aquino's assertion. “Perhaps it's the opposite,” said Sen. Francis Escudero. Wearing a neck brace, Arroyo smiled and held her grandson's hand as she left the hospital. She suffers from a neck ailment. Court spokeswoman Felda Domingo said Arroyo was released after posting bail of 1 million pesos ($23,250). She said Arroyo, who won a seat in Congress in 2010 after stepping down from the presidency, cannot leave the country and needs court permission to visit her district in the northern province of Pampanga. Judge Jesus Mupas ruled that the evidence presented by prosecutors was not strong enough to deny bail. Election sabotage is normally a non-bailable offense, but bail can be granted if defendants show that the evidence against them is weak. Aquino has targeted the former president for alleged corruption and other wrongdoing during her tumultuous nine years in office. Prosecutors filed plunder charges last week in a separate anti-graft court against Arroyo and nine others for alleged misuse of 365 million pesos ($8.7 million) in state lottery funds. — Agencies
