Responsibility for the granting of a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the ‘travel watchlist’ versus Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday, and her subsequent frenzied attempts to flee the country, ultimately lays at the doorstep of President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III, says the national youth group Anakbayan.

After the Supreme Court granted the TRO yesterday, the Arroyos booked three to four succeeding flights for Singapore. However, due to an explosion of public outrage, especially at social networking sites, pressured certain Cabinet officials to take action and block Gloria from leaving.

“The reason Gloria still got her Court victory is because 504 days after leaving the Palace, the Aquino administration has not filed a single criminal case against her” said Vencer Crisostomo, national chairperson of Anakbayan.

He added “There would be no question about the watchlist if only Arroyo is currently facing criminal charges”.

The non-prosecution of Arroyo stands in sharp contrast to the experience of disgraced former president Joseph Estrada who was jailed in less than three months after his ouster during the EDSA 2 uprising.

“There’s no reason for this criminally negligent behavior on the part of Noynoy. It seems they really do not want to bring the former president to justice” said the youth leader.

Previous investigations, including that of the Senate and an independent investigator from the United Nations, have unearthed evidence linking Gloria to more than 1,100 cases of extra-judicial killings and 200 cases of enforced disappearances; cheating during the 2004 and 2007 elections; and huge corruption scandals such as the ZTE-NBN bribery scam.

Crisostomo questioned Aquino’s sincerity, saying he “practically ‘telegraphed’ his moves” when he announced he was going to start prosecuting Gloria this month: “He shouldn’t be surprised that she and the rest of her family are now trying to flee the country”.

“Baka sinadya at moro-moro lang lahat ito para magmukhang bida ulit si Noynoy (Maybe its just staged so Noynoy can play the hero again)” he added.

The president has seen his once-high popularity ratings drop due to his various issues such as the slow pace of filing criminal charges against the Arroyos, budget cuts to education and other social services, oil price hikes, toll fee hikes, the continued non-distribution of his family’s Hacienda Luisita to farmers, and perceived incompetence, including a penchant for playing video games.