Press Release
November 15, 2011

Cayetano to Aquino government: 'Huwag magpasindak sa mga Arroyo'

Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano urged the Aquino government to not allow itself to be threatened by the allegations being hurled by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's camp in response to the ongoing prosecution of plunder cases and electoral sabotage filed against them.

"Hindi dapat magpasindak ang gobyerno sa mga pahayag ng mga Arroyo dahil may malaking pagkaka-iba ang persecution sa prosecution," he said.

Cayetano pointed out that there is nothing wrong with prosecuting the Arroyos since it is the duty of the government to do so. He explained that persecution on the other hand is an act of going after the accused merely on baseless allegations - which he stated is not the case with the Arroyos.

"Ang persecution ay kung nag-iimbento lang ang gobyerno at hinahabol sila nang wala namang ginawang masama," he said.

The senator pointed out that the government should not lose its focus on the real issue that led to the filing of various cases against the former president and former first gentleman.

"Instead of the government slowing down and arguing with the Arroyos, they should just make sure that the Arroyos are given due process as they implement the full force of the law," he said.

Cayetano also urged government agencies to collaborate with each other in order to cleanse their ranks of all those who served as instruments to the Arroyos citing as examples those involved in the Fertilizer Scam from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and those involved in the NBN-ZTE scam from the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC).

The senator stressed that the government must similarly go after the 'small fishes' that took part in committing crimes allegedly perpetrated by the Arroyos against the Filipino people. This, he said, becomes important in gathering evidence that will strengthen the cases of plunder and electoral sabotage.

He also called on the Department of Justice (DOJ), Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the Commission on Audit (COA) to fully look into the Arroyo administration and use any uncovered findings of anomalous deals as evidence to strengthen the cases filed against the Arroyos.

"Let us focus on the real issue here: Did the Arroyos lie, cheat and steal? Was there a cover up of the anomalies done by the former president and his family? If these are proven true, then the government has the duty to prosecute and go after them," he said.

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