Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — A former top official of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) is requesting the Sandiganbayan for temporary release on humanitarian grounds, according to a court document filed.
In a copy of the motion filed by PCSO general manager Rosario Uriarte obtained Tuesday by CNN Philippines, Uriarte asked the anti-graft court to grant her temporary release from the National Bureau of Investigation where is held in detention.
If release cannot be granted, she is seeking confinement at home for treatment of tumors in her right breast , the motion added.
“Accused Uriarte is begging the Honorable Court that she be allowed to be confined at home for a six-month period, and possibly an additional three to four months thereafter,” it said.
She submitted a medical abstract to the court, which indicates that treatment involves chemotherapy in hospital.
Uriarte, together with former president Gloria Arroyo and 12 others, were charged in 2012 by the Sandiganbayan with plunder following the alleged misuse of PCSO funds.
She reportedly left the country before the Ombudsman filed the charges.
But she turned up on November 22 this year to plead “not guilty” to the plunder charge she is facing.
Uriarte said she cannot undergo treatment at her detention quarters as she might be exposed to infection-causing germs.
She adds her home is close to the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.
“In the unfortunate event that she were to suffer from any conplications arising from the treatment, she may be more easily rushed to the hospital and her doctors, than if she were to be detained at the NBI,” Uriarte said.
At the same time, Uriarte also sought temporary release for humanitarian reasons.
She cited in her motion the case of former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, who was allowed by the Supreme Court to post bail due to his poor health and old age.
Also, Uriarte noted a high court ruling dropping the plunder charges against Arroyo and former PCSO budget official Benigno Aguas due to lack of evidence.
She argues no evidence of guilt exists against her as well.
