Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

Press Release
February 27, 2012

*Reject Aquino's favors for 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.