POST-PRESIDENCY
House of Representatives In November 2009, Arroyo formally declared her intention to run for a seat in the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga, making her the second Philippine President – after José P. Laurel – to pursue a lower office after the expiration of their presidency.A petition seeking to disqualify Arroyo from the race was dismissed by the Comelec for lack of merit, a decision which was later affirmed by the Supreme Court. With little serious competition, she was elected to congress in May 2010 with a landslide victory. After receiving final military honors at the inauguration ceremony of incoming President Benigno Aquino III, she headed straight to Pampanga for her own oath-taking as congresswoman.
Despite being considered the strongest contender for Speaker of the House, Arroyo declined to seek the position, hoping instead to take on a role similar to Sonia Gandhi, who was influential as merely the head of her party. On her first day as a lawmaker, Arroyo and her son Dato filed a resolution calling for Congress to call a constitutional convention to propose amendments to the existing constitution.
Arroyo successfully earned a second term as congresswoman for Pampanga's second legislative district at the conclusion of the 2013 Philippine mid-term elections on 13 May 2013, defeating the ruling Liberal Party's Vivian Dabu who was the provincial administrator under priest-turned-politician former Governor Among Ed Panlilio.
Hospital Arrest
Arroyo was arrested on November 18, 2011 after a Pasay court issued a warrant of arrest against her, following the filing of a complaint for electoral sabotage by the Commission on Elections.The arrest warrant was served at a St. Luke's Medical Center at Taguig where Arroyo had been confined.[33] Days earlier, the Supreme Court had issued a Resolution enjoining attempts by the Department of Justice to prevent her departure from the Philippines to seek medical treatment overseas.
She was transferred to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on December 9, 2011.Arroyo was released from hospital arrest on bail on July 25, 2012.
On October 29, 2012, she refused to enter any plea on charges she misused $8.8 million in state lottery funds during her term in office. As of December 2013, she remains in custody at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center.
Despite being considered the strongest contender for Speaker of the House, Arroyo declined to seek the position, hoping instead to take on a role similar to Sonia Gandhi, who was influential as merely the head of her party. On her first day as a lawmaker, Arroyo and her son Dato filed a resolution calling for Congress to call a constitutional convention to propose amendments to the existing constitution.
Arroyo successfully earned a second term as congresswoman for Pampanga's second legislative district at the conclusion of the 2013 Philippine mid-term elections on 13 May 2013, defeating the ruling Liberal Party's Vivian Dabu who was the provincial administrator under priest-turned-politician former Governor Among Ed Panlilio.
Hospital Arrest
Arroyo was arrested on November 18, 2011 after a Pasay court issued a warrant of arrest against her, following the filing of a complaint for electoral sabotage by the Commission on Elections.The arrest warrant was served at a St. Luke's Medical Center at Taguig where Arroyo had been confined.[33] Days earlier, the Supreme Court had issued a Resolution enjoining attempts by the Department of Justice to prevent her departure from the Philippines to seek medical treatment overseas.
She was transferred to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on December 9, 2011.Arroyo was released from hospital arrest on bail on July 25, 2012.
On October 29, 2012, she refused to enter any plea on charges she misused $8.8 million in state lottery funds during her term in office. As of December 2013, she remains in custody at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center.