MANILA: Philippine President Benigno Aquino will not show special treatment to his predecessor Gloria Arroyo if a court orders her jailed, his spokeswoman Abigail Valte said on Saturday.
Aquino will not interfere in the court's orders despite previous offers by his cabinet members to have Arroyo held in house arrest or in a hospital after the government filed election sabotage charges against her, said Valte.
"The president said he will not comment or make our preferences known in the first place because it is in the discretion of the judge. The president himself has said that we would not like to influence the prosecution in any way."
This came after government lawyers said Friday they wanted Arroyo transferred to a police jail as soon as she is released from a hospital where she is undergoing treatment for what she says is a rare bone disease.
Arroyo's lawyers however said they will press for her to be held in house arrest, citing her status as a former president and concerns for her security. Valte told reporters that Arroyo's rights would be respected despite Aquino's vow to make her accountable for her alleged misdeeds.
Various Aquino cabinet members had previously offered Arroyo house arrest but Valte said "these are things that are said to media, of course but, ultimately, it is up to the judge to really decide."
Arroyo, who ruled the country for nearly a decade until last year, was arrested at the hospital last week after she was charged with cheating to ensure one of her allies won the final seat in 2007 senatorial elections.
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