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Philippine President: Govt to Build Hospital Annex for Estrada
In what appeared to be another reconciliation effort, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Sunday that the government will build an annex inside a hospital for her jailed predecessor Joseph Estrada.
The annex would serve as a "temporary shelter" for Estrada while the anti-graft court deliberates on his house arrest petition, Arroyo said in an interview with local radio station DZRH.
Arroyo on Saturday paid a surprise visit to Estrada who is undergoing a medical check-up in a government hospital in Manila. During the meeting, Estrada renewed his request that he be held under house arrest, and Arroyo said she "has no objection" but the matter is up to the anti-graft court to decide.
"I told him, in the meantime, to make him feel comfortable we will build an annex in the hospital that is fit for a former president," Arroyo said on the radio.
The annex would be like a "cottage, a house" with a reception area for visitors of the fallen leader, she said, but adding the visiting hours for Estrada would still be determined by the police.
Arroyo explained that she decided to see Estrada after she heard reports that he had "bouts of depression" on learning that he would be returned to his detention center in laguna province, south of Manila.
Estrada, jailed on April 25, was awaiting trial for the charge of economic plunder, a non-bailable offense punishable by death. He was accused of illegally amassing 4.1 billion pesos (82 million US dollars) during his 31 months in office.
Saturday's visit was the second paid by Arroyo to her predecessor since he was forced out of office in January. Arroyo first visited Estrada at his detention cell in Laguna on May 3 following the May 1 siege of the presidential palace by thousands of his supporters.
Saturday's visit came after the May 14 congressional and local polls where their respective camps have been fighting it out, particularly for the crucial 13 Senate seats that are up for grabs.
The ruling PPC and the opposition coalition Philippine Democratic Struggle-Strength of the Masses have been accusing each other of heating in the elections whose results are still being tabulated by the official Commission on Elections (Comelec).
The latest unofficial quick count by the National Movement for free Elections, an independent poll monitoring body, showed that the ruling People Power Coalition (PPC) was leading eight of the 13 senatorial contests while the opposition coalition, the Philippine Democratic Struggle-Strength of the Masses (PnM), was ahead in four, including Estrada's wife. An independent was expected to get the 13th slot.
The count was based on the group's tabulation of returns from 65.92 percent of more than 200,000 precincts nationwide as of 4:22 p.m. Sunday (0822 GMT).
The official count by the Comelec as of 3:15 p.m. Saturday (0715 GMT) produced the same result from tabulated returns from more than 9,890 precincts. It took a day off Sunday from tallying votes.
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