Palace Awaits Notice on Case Filed by former President Arroyo’s International Lawyer

The Palace said on Monday it has yet to receive notification regarding the petition filed at the United Nations by former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s international lawyer.

“We have yet to receive a formal notice on the reported case filed by Ms. Amal Alamuddin-Clooney before the United Nations. The government will respond accordingly, through the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Solicitor General, once we shall have received the requisite notice,” Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said.

Secretary Coloma was commenting on reports that international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has sought the intervention of the UN Human Rights Council regarding the alleged violation of Arroyo’s rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
According to reports, Clooney said the Philippine government has violated ICCPR’s Articles 9, 14, 19 and 25 when Arroyo was placed in detention at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City despite her medical condition and political status.

Clooney, a London-based Lebanese-British lawyer who is married to Hollywood actor George Clooney, said Arroyo must be given temporary release so she could seek medical treatment abroad. PND (ag)