Lawyers: No need for Arroyo doctors to testify in SC oral arguments

Lawyers of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday said it was not necessary for her doctors to testify in the Supreme Court's oral arguments over the watch list orders against her.
 
Lawyer Raul Lambino, one of Arroyo’s spokespersons, said the high court was not a "trier of facts" and the authority to summon her doctors lies with the regional trial courts.
 
"I don't think it's right to have them summoned. The medical condition of Mrs. Arroyo is immaterial when it comes to her right to travel," Lambino told GMA News Online.
 
As the second round of oral arguments was about to close, Arroyo lawyer Anacleto Diaz signified their intention to file a formal opposition against the urgent request — filed Wednesday by the Justice Department — for the doctors to appear before the court.
 
On Thursday's oral arguments, Justice Secretary de Lima urged the magistrates to decide on the urgent motion within the day but Chief Justice Renato Corona ruled to tackled the request during the oral arguments next Tuesday and Thursday.
 
It was not important whether Mrs. Arroyo was well or not, since the issue centers on her right to travel and her right to life was just a "side issue," said Lambino.
 
"Even if you are dying, it is still your right to travel. Whether you will just be watching a Pacquiao fight, it's your right to travel," the lawyer said.
 
In case the magistrates would insist on summoning Mrs. Arroyo's three doctors from the St. Luke's Medical Center, Lambino said they will heed the court.
 
"Kung in-order, wala tayo magagawa," he said.
 
The doctors — should they testify — cannot invoke the patient-doctor confidentiality clause. "In situations like this, it does not apply because that confidentiality clause is not absolute," he noted. — VS, GMA News