A team of more than 10 doctors performed the surgery on the former President  began at 7:00 a.m. on Friday. Members of the Arroyo family were present at the hospital.

before undergoing a “Anterior Cervical Decompression and Fusion” surgery where pinched nerve endings are removed while titanium plates are placed on the neck to correct alignment, the former President was sedated and was put on a breathing apparatus, the “crucial” state was whether the former President would wake up after the surgery, which would indicate that she is in stable condition.

It is said that Mrs. Arroyo was rushed to the hospital after doing some rounds of barangays in Pampanga last Monday after President Benigno Simeon Aquino delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

De Lima told the reporters, as the head of the Department of Justice she has the appanage to include the former President Arroyo on the watch list order against subjects of government inquiries.

The former President Arroyo is now facing a lot of charges against her like three plunder complaints, one involving the alleged anomalous P73 million sale of the old Iloilo airport in 2007, the other the supposed misuse of P550 million in migrant workers’ welfare funds, and about P1.6 billion in Agriculture funds allegedly diverted to her campaign kitty in 2004. Another is the PCSO anomalies of which her name was always mentioned. These are the reason why De Lima is seriously considering her to be part of the watch list.

Bayan Muna party list has already filed plunder charges against Arroyo before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with how the PCSO allegedly became a cash cow of the Arroyo administration and its allies.

To be able to be lifted from the Immigration watch list the former president Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo has to move formally said De Lima.

The former President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo arrived from Europe trip last Saturday. But she keeps her silence on all the allegations  against her. Raul Lambino, Her legal spokesperson, said that the current administration is planning on a “massive, well-funded campaign” against Arroyo.

During the senate blue ribbon committee hearing, Senator Lacson spilled that the PCSO gave 2million pesos to Gawin Natin Lakas Pinoy  in 2003.

The less than a year old Gawin Natin Lakas Pinoy foundation was behind the ” run, Gloria run” posters, posted in many parts of the country.

While holding up a copy of the poster, Lacson told the committee that the 2 million was given to the group but what happened was it was not used for the charity but for posters.

Lacson also told the committee that the man behind the funding was Raul Nestor Ancheta, Uriarte’s Cheif of staff and one of the incorporators  of the foundation.

“Don’t you have due diligence to know if this money went to charity? No matter how I look at it, it wasn’t used for charitable purposes,” Lacson said.

however Uriarte denied having any transaction with the NGO (Gawin Natin Lakas Pinoy)

She also said that she could not remember giving out money for other organization the only thing that she remember is the funding of medical missions and charity.

Lacson asked them why funds requested from the PCSO for the purchase of ambulance in 2003 and was also used for the motorcade and PCSO even provided a medical team for the event.

However Uriarte denied knowing anything about the event. but she said that it was common for them to provide medical teams for such event.

Intelligence Funds

Earlier Uriarte revealed that she requested personally for the intelligence funds from then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who approved the request immediately.

However the Senators, doubted the amount of P325 million pesos in the intelligence funds requested and approved by Mrs. Arroyo,  from 2008 to 2010. They also specifically found suspicious the PCSO’s request of P160 million in funds before the 2004 elections.

During the hearing, it was also revealed that Uriarte encashed P102.5 million in PCSO funds from January to June 2010, also within the election period. She refused to tell where the funds went.

Graft and plunder cases against Mrs. Arroyo and Uriarte was filed last week by  Bayan Muna party-list Representatives Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenares for allegedly diverting PCSO funds to “phantom” intelligence funds not subject to regular auditing.

That is why Albay Gov. Joey Salceda must explain to a thwarted President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo his choice to defect to the camp of Liberal Party (LP) presidential bet Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, according to Malacañang.

“I would imagine she would be disappointed by the decision of the governor. Of course she’d prefer to have him with her chosen successor and not against,” Gary Olivar, the President’s deputy spokesperson, said at a briefing Thursday.

Salceda, an economic adviser to the President, stunned Lakas Kampi when he flew out and acknowledged Noynoy’s proposal to serve as Liberal Party chair in the Region 5. The formal announcement of his defection is set for April 20, on his return from a medical check-up out of the country.

“It’s not my place to evaluate the degree of betrayal. He has to talk to the President and explain himself. I’m sure they have a lot to talk about,” Olivar later said.

On the other hand, Ms Arroyo was in Madrid Thursday on the last leg of her two-nation foreign trip. According to Olivar, the President, upon her return, will organize the national executive committee of Lakas-Kampi-CMD to unite party-mates furthermore behind administration standard bearer Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr.

“She’s expected to attend the executive committee meeting. Perhaps on that occasion, she will take the opportunity, as you put it, to crack the whip and take a firmer hand,” he said.

Aquino could also be betrayed by his latest collaborator, Salceda, said Antique Gov. Salvacion Zaldivar Perez. Salceda’s former supporters in the recently established National Caucus of Governors (NCG) have come out criticizing him for junking Teodoro.

“Noynoy, be careful of Governor Salceda. If he can do it to Gibo, he can do it to you,” Perez said by phone, addressing Aquino.

Senator Manny Villar, the presidential candidate representing Nacionalista Party (NP) for the upcoming May 2010 elections, is still one of the senators who have registered the most number of bills and resolutions in the Senate even until the present 14th Congress, according to Yahoo! News.

For the 14th Congress, Sen. Manny Villar owns the second most number of legislation filed in the Senate with 737 bills and resolutions based on the documents released as of Dec. 31, 2009. Villar is trailing consistent leading filer Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, a guest candidate under NP banner as well, accumulating 1,231. Villar filed a sum of 158 bills and resolutions (24 bills and 134 resolutions) in 2009.

Thus far, Villar has the utmost number of bills and resolutions filed among the 2010 presidentiables. The Senate Bills and Index Service hand out statistics after each Congress, and based on recent available information, the top ten filers are: Santiago, Villar, Sens. Jinggoy Estrada, 622; Lito Lapid, 398; Chiz Escudero, 372; Loren Legarda, 359; Bong Revilla, 341; Antonio Trillanes, 341, Dick Gordon, 228; and Mar Roxas, 226.

Chairman of the Master of Public Management Program of UP Open University, Dr. Ebinezer Florano, stated in his study, that of the 21 Republic Acts (RAs) sanctioned by both Chambers of Congress and duly inked by President Arroyo during the 14th Congress, Villar generated and co-authored 10 original bills that in time became laws and thus has the best record in seeing bills through passage.

Across Manila and Quezon City, the banners on the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) footbridges and overpasses “thanked” Mrs. Arroyo for financing the education of at least 4.3 million “scholars.”

“Maraming Salamat, Pangulong Gloria … 4.3 million scholar (Thank you so much President Gloria, 4.3 million scholars),” was the written message on some of the banners.

The group that was said to be behind the banners was a certain “Young Pinoys.”