Philippines - **Reject Aquino's favors for Gloria Arroyo, push for charging her with high crimes -- CPP**

Almost two years into office, the government of Benigno Aquino III
has yet to file charges of war crimes and gross violations of human
rights, as well as crimes of plunder against Gloria Arroyo"

PRESS RELEASE

CPP Information Bureau

27 February 2012

**Reject Aquino's favors for Gloria Arroyo, push for charging her with
high crimes -- CPP**

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today lambasted the
Aquino regime for standing down to the legal pleadings of Gloria
Arroyo to be extended medical and personal privileges and for having
so far failed to file more serious criminal charges against her.

The CPP urged the Filipino people to reject the Aquino regime's steps
that accord Gloria Arroyo with privileges and to step up their mass
struggles to make Arroyo face charges of plunder and gross violations
of human rights and humanitarian law.

"Taking cue from Aquino, government lawyers did not even challenge
petitions from Gloria Arroyo's lawyers to continue her hospital
detention and be afforded a three-day furlough from detention to
attend the wake of her brother-in-law Ignacio Arroyo, which are
typically not extended to ordinary people facing criminal charges,"
said the CPP.

"These privileges, however, are only the tip of the iceberg of the
favors and legal accomodations being accorded by the Aquino government
to Arroyo," added the CPP. "Almost two years into office, Aquino has
yet to file more serious charges of war crimes and gross violations of
human rights as well as crimes of plunder against Gloria Arroyo even
after having appointed his own ombudsman."

"Despite all the anti-Arroyo noise being stirred up by Aquino himself,
the only thing he can boast of is having filed charges against Arroyo
for the relatively minor crime of sabotaging the 2007 elections, which
some believe was so crafted that it could easily be defeated in
court," said the CPP.

"There are at least seven complaints of plunder filed against Arroyo,
yet not a single plunder case has been filed by the Aquino's
ombudsman."

The Office of the Ombudsman has so far succeeded only in charging
Arroyo over the ZTE Broadband deal, which it even reduced to graft
from the original complaint of plunder. Up to now, it has yet to file
a single case on gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law
despite the preponderance of evidence of her direct responsibility in
ordering and carrying out the bloody Oplan Bantay Laya which was
marked by a campaign of extrajudicial killings, abductions, torture,
illegal arrests and detention, militarization of communities, forcible
mass evacuations, violations of childrens' rights and more
brutalities.

"Aquino's footdragging in charging Gloria Arroyo with high crimes
stands in stark contrast to his rush to remove Chief Justice Renato
Corona from the Supreme Court," pointed out the CPP.