Sandiganbayan suspends GMA for 90 days

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2009. (Wikipeida photo)

MANILA — Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was suspended by the Sandiganbayan for 90 days following the graft case filed against her in connection with the alleged anomalies in the ZTE national broadband network (NBN) deal.

The order, addressed directly to Arroyo, was released yesterday by the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division chaired by Associate Justice Gregory Ong.

The four-page directive mandates Arroyo, who is now detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) for a separate plunder case,  to stop the exercise of her lawmaker functions.

The order specifically directs Arroyo to “cease and desist from performing the duties of her office and availing of her privileges” as a member of the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he has to consult with his colleagues regarding the order’s legal effect but added that it has no practical effect since Arroyo is already in detention.