House Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had "done no wrongdoing during her term" as President, her lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
Topacio made the remark in response to the graft and malversation charges filed against Arroyo over the weekend.
"We have been made aware, through various media outlets, of new cases filed before the Ombudsman against former President and now for certain acts allegedly done when she was in Malacangan," he said in a statement.
The lawyer said they have yet to receive the official copy of the charges.
"Therefore, in accordance with settled legal principles, [former] Pres[ident] Arroyo has done no wrongdoing during her term," he added.
Topacio said they are confident that the accusations against his client will be proven false just like "other accusations have been shown to be baseless."
"We trust in the justice system, and we shall answer the charges in due time," he furthered.
Electricity consumer groups, the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (NASECORE) and the Boses ng Konsyumer Alliance Inc. (BKAI), filed 96 counts of graft and 96 counts of malversation against Arroyo before the Office of the Ombudsman.
According to NASECORE and BKAI, the filed complaint was based on the Commission on Audit (COA) special audit report that showed that ₱38.807 billion out of the ₱173.280 billion Malaymaya fund was released during Arroyo's term.
The said funds were disbursed to government agencies, the Department of Health, the Department of Transportation and Communications, the Department of the Interior and Local Government , and the Department of Finance.
The complainants insisted that Arroyo violated Presidential Decree No. 910.
"Repsondent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whimsically took the opportunity of the said law's inadequacy and deliberately twisted the interpretation of the said provision to suit her ill-desire to utilize the funds," the two consumer groups said.
