Former President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal Arroyo case elevated to United Nation by Alamuddin Clooney

Amal Alamuddin Clooney the wife of Hollywood superstar George Clooney has brought to the United Nations Human Rights Council the plight of Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

 

Lawyer Modesto Ticman, Jr. supplied Alamuddin Clooney with all the details of the case of the former president and held a teleconference regarding on the matter. The complaint which was filed through the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, was prepared and written by Alamuddin Clooney herself. She said that the government of the Philippines has violated several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. She wants the UN to intervene in the immediate release of Arroyo, who is detained under charges of plunder over the alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds.

Alamuddin Clooney said that Arroyo must be given temporary release to be able to get medical treatment abroad. In which Arroyo is under hospital arrest for a bone mineral disorder.

Alamuddin Clooney cited Articles 9, 14, 19 and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. She also requested a full investigation of the circumstances in which criminal proceedings were brought against Arroyo and also the circumstances behind her detention. And also wants the Philippines to reform its laws on “non-bailable” offenses.

She is also seeking a public apology for the violations of Arroyo’s rights, adding that full and adequate compensation should also be accorded to the former president.

She also wants Arroyo to have unrestricted access to different means of communications such as a mobile phone, Internet, and laptop computer.

The complaint said the prosecution failed to establish any legitimate ground denying bail and that there has been undue delay in bringing the former president to trial. In which the motion for bail was ignored for over 10 months, in violation of the duty for a prompt decision.

The working group asked Alamuddin-Clooney if she wanted the case to be filed under “urgent action procedure” or under a “regular procedure.”

Larry Gadon, a family friend and legal counsel to the Arroyos explained that urgent action procedure means: “The UN working group may send an appeal to the Philippine state to free PGMA from detention on humanitarian considerations. Urgent action procedure in this case will not result in a finding of the Working Group on the alleged arbitrary nature of the detention. Furthermore, the communications with the concerned government will remain confidential and not be shared with the complainant or counsel as the source of the complaint. Lastly, it remains at the Working Group's discretion to continue to pursue the case under its regular communications procedure.”

Regular procedure, on the other hand, means: “The initiation of the regular communications procedure will result in complainant’s or counsel’s ability to provide comment on any government response received in this case, as well as the rendering of an opinion by the UN WGAD on the arbitrary nature of the detention. The opinion will be reported to the UN Human Rights Council as well as made public through the Working Group's webpage, database, and the Official Documentation System of the UN. Such opinion may be rendered as early as the last quarter of this year.”

The legal team will pursue first “urgent action procedure” before proceeding to “regular procedure.”