Arroyo offers privileges to Estrada as vote count continues

A majority win by Arroyo candidates in the national elections remains unclear

By CNN's Rufi Vigilar

MANILA, Philippines -- Troubled by political uncertainty, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is being forced to offer more special privileges to jailed former leader Joseph Estrada.

With results from last week's senate elections still inconclusive, Arroyo's spokesman Roberto Tiglao said on Monday the government may provide more comfortable living arrangements for Estrada's jailed son, Jinggoy.

The move comes a day after Arroyo said the government would build special quarters for Estrada at the military hospital where he is undergoing medical check-ups.

A municipal mayor, Jinggoy was arrested with his father and is being detained on the same charge of economic plunder, which carries the death sentence.

CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

Estrada entered hospital two days before the May 14 senate elections, complaining of chest pains.

He has been pleading to be placed under house arrest instead of being held in a lock-up in a police camp south of the capital Manila. He has also asked that his son be granted the same consideration.

AUDIO Q&A with CNN's Maria Ressa 2.37 MB/3 min 45 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Since Arroyo's government was not formally voted in the senate elections are being touted as litmus test of its legitimacy.

Although Arroyo holds a lead in the senate elections vote counting, several Estrada supporters hold senior political positions and pose a strong threat to her government.

Vulnerability

In a sign of the president's sense of vulnerability, the government said its decision to give Estrada more comfortable hospital quarters was a gesture of "reconciliation" with the former leader and his allies.

Estrada and son voted in the military hospital which may become home for weeks to come

Tiglao said the public should see the government's intent "rather than the form," adding that Estrada should be accorded "the dignity due a past president."

He did not explain why the government is considering similar accommodations for Estrada's son.

Arroyo's critics see the moves as a crack in her administration's resolve to fight corruption.

Leftist leader Teodoro Casino said the special quarters for Estrada "sends a wrong signal to those who worked hard for Estrada's ouster."

A wave of so-called "People Power" protests forced Estrada from office in January and replaced him with Arroyo.

Casino's group BAYAN, among the largest militant groups in the country, had pushed for Estrada's removal, but did not lend outright support for Arroyo, who it perceives as elitist.

Ongoing election count

Tiglao denied Sunday that granting a special quarter to Estrada was related to the ongoing election count.

Although Tiglao said Estrada was "no longer a threat" to the government, he admitted that the deposed leader's supporters might still cause problems for Arroyo.

Estrada supporters led a failed but violent Labor Day march on the presidential palace, forcing President Arroyo to declare a state of rebellion under which suspected coup plotters could be arrested without warrants.

Three suspected coup plotters are among the leading candidates running for re-election in the Senate elections.

Estrada's wife, Loi Ejercito, and his former executive secretary are also within the so-called "Magic 13" slots in the Senate race.

President Arroyo has also said Estrada's supporters may still cause problems for her government, justifying the building of new hospital quarters for Estrada by saying "healing must come from the top".

A spokesman for Estrada said at the weekend the treatment accorded to the ex-president "will impact on whether the pro-Estrada people will support Arroyo."

Without help from Estrada's backers, Arroyo "will have a hard time pressing her legislative agenda," Ernesto Maceda said over ABS-CBN television.

"And once there is a stalemate in the political process, that makes the ground fertile for military adventure."

Arroyo visited Estrada over the weekend, saying she was concerned for the deposed leader's supposed bouts of depression over the prospect of being brought back to police camp.

Legal grounds

Arroyo's plans to keep Estrada under "hospital arrest" have already found many opponents in the form of a group of lawyers acting under the name "Equal Justice".

The lawyers, who originally brought criminal charges against Estrada, warned on Monday it would petition the Supreme Court to have the former leader returned to prison.

But University of the Philippine law professor Harry Roque told CNN the Arroyo government would not run into any legal problems for keeping Estrada in the special hospital wing.

"The law does not state where detention would be … there is no provision that says it should be a city jail," Roque said.

Roque added that Arroyo's legal critics might invoke "equal protection under the law," and say that Estrada and his son are being granted "special privileges."

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the country's largest group of lawyers, took a conservative stand on the issue.

IBP president Arthur Lim said they would wait for the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court's decision on the matter.

Lim said "the law does not prohibit a house arrest or hospital arrest as alternatives to detention".

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.