Philippines wants ex-leader Arroyo in jail before trial

Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should be held in jail while awaiting trial on vote-fixing charges, government prosecutors said in a court hearing on Friday, after a doctor said she was fit enough to leave hospital.

Arroyo, president from 2001-2010 and now a member of Congress, has been under guard at a private hospital in Manila since her arrest a week ago on charges of manipulating results in elections in 2007.

"We insist that she is transferred immediately to a police detention centre because she is already medically fit to leave the hospital," prosecutor Maria Juana Valeza said after one of Arroyo's three doctors testified her condition had improved.

Jay Flaminiano, one of the former leaders' lawyers, said they would seek house arrest for Arroyo.

Arroyo, 64, denies all charges against her and says she needs to travel overseas for treatment for a spine condition.

The government fears she wants to avoid an investigation.

Valeza told the Pasay City court, which issued the arrest warrant for Arroyo last week, the former president should be moved to the Southern Police District office, a detention facility nearest to her hospital.

Arroyo has been in hospital since Nov. 15, when the government stopped her from boarding a flight to Singapore.

The court would inspect the detention facility to assess its security and whether it could meet Arroyo's medical needs, said court clerk Joel Pelicano.

In the meantime, she would remain in hospital.

A decision could be made by around mid-December, Pelicano said.

One of Arroyo's three doctors, Mario Ver, an orthopedic spine surgeon, testified she was fit to leave hospital despite back pain.

Pelicano said the court has received at least nine separate motions from both sides, including ones for the suspension of the proceedings and dropping of the arrest warrant.

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