Media Debunk Arroyo’s ‘Exoneration’

CHEERS TO GMA News Online and Rappler for pointing out that not all charges against former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have been dismissed, contrary to the claims of her lawyer, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio.

On December 17, Pasay RTC branch 112 granted Arroyo’s demurrer to evidence on the electoral sabotage case filed against her in connection with the 2007 senatorial elections and the court will return the PHP1-million bail she posted in 2016.

Granting the demurrer to evidence—a motion to dismiss a case based on the insufficiency of the prosecutor’s evidence— the court no longer required Arroyo to present evidence, effectively dismissing the case. Judge Jesus B. Mupas’ ruling reads, “For failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt of accused Arroyo beyond reasonable doubt…the Demurrer to Evidence is granted and the charge of ‘electoral sabotage’ against accused Arroyo is hereby dismissed.”

Shortly after the decision went public on December 29, Topacio claimed Arroyo had been absolved of all charges filed against her during the Aquino administration. “With the acquittal of Speaker Arroyo, now it may be said that none of the cases filed against her by the Aquino Administration have survived judicial scrutiny,” Topacio said.

The claim may be true to a point as charges in Arroyo’s rap sheet are being dropped one by one. But contrary to Topacio’s assertion, Arroyo has not been cleared of all charges.

Unlike most media organizations that merely echoed Topacio’s statement, two media organizations contradicted him by fact-checking his claim. Rappler noted that one remaining complaint against Arroyo remains pending preliminary investigation at the Office of the Ombudsman. The complaint is related to the P365-million Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) intelligence fund scam, although the plunder charge in this connection was dismissed.

GMA News Online’s report also referred to the remaining PCSO case. Neither report revealed other details about the pending PCSO case.

GMA’s report, using data from GMA News Research, also recalled the different charges filed against Arroyo, that she had been cleared of at least seven other alleged anomalies. Two complaints reached the Sandiganbayan—a graft case in connection with the NBN-ZTE deal and a plunder case for alleged anomalies involving PCSO intelligence funds.

The Sandiganbayan dismissed the NBN-ZTE graft case in July 2016, while the PCSO plunder case reached the Supreme Court which acquitted Arroyo in August of the same year.

The same report said at least five complaints against the former president have been dismissed outright by the Office of the Ombudsman: a complaint on the alleged misuse of the PHP539-million Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) fund, the allegedly anomalous sale of a piece of property in the Iloilo Airport, the PHP728-million fertilizer fund scam, botched infrastructure projects in Camarines Sur and the alleged misuse of the PHP900-million Malampaya fund.

Arroyo’s acquittal was severely underreported in newsprint, especially in broadcast news in comparison to the coverage of other high-profile cases last year, such as Sen. Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr.’s acquittal, Imelda Marcos’ guilty verdict and Sen. Antonio Trillanes’ amnesty revocation. Media hardly referred to dissenting views in the coverage of Arroyo’s cases.

Online reports were relatively more substantive but still lacked context, with the exception of a few, among them those of GMA News Online and Rappler. Acquittals embolden politicians to commit the same crimes. Media should have reported on Arroyo’s case with more interest and analysis, calling attention to the pattern of acquittal favoring political allies of the current administration.