Arroyo will get fair hearing - Philippines' leader

Former Philippine leader Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, under guard in a Manila hospital after being arrested on charges of electoral sabotage, will be given a fair opportunity to defend herself in court, President Benigno Aquino said.

Aquino, who swept to power last year on a platform of tackling corruption, including a vow to pursue allegations of corruption against Arroyo, also said the guilty had to be held accountable or it would encourage others to commit crimes.

"She will have a fair chance to defend herself in court. That is the right of every Filipino. It is but fitting that the process for all Filipinos be equal," he said late on Saturday on his return from the Association of South East Asia Nation (ASEAN) meeting in Bali.

Arroyo, president from 2001-2010, has consistently denied the allegations against her.

Arroyo was arrested at a Manila hospital on Friday. She had been there since Tuesday night, when the government stopped her from boarding a flight at the airport.

Arroyo says she needs to travel to seek medical treatment for a spine condition, but the government believes she wants to evade investigation and possible prosecution.

The former president was wearing a neck brace when police took her mugshot and fingerprints in the hospital on Saturday.

Arroyo's legal team have said the charges were trumped up and they will question a lower court's jurisdiction to handle the electoral sabotage charges when they appear before the Pasay City regional trial court on Monday.

The alleged vote rigging happened in the restive southern Muslim province of Maguindanao. The charges carry a life sentence.

Arroyo also faces allegations of fraud over a 2004 presidential election and corruption in her administration, which the government is still investigating.

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