Ex-Philippine president Gloria Arroyo walked free from eight months in detention Wednesday after a court issued a surprise ruling granting her bail, saying a vote rigging case against her was weak. Wearing a neck brace to support her spine that is weakened from a rare disease, Arroyo left a tightly guarded military hospital in Manila where she had been awaiting trial on the charge that could see her jailed for life.
The granting of bail appeared a major setback for her successor, Benigno Aquino, who has said that bringing Arroyo to justice for crimes she allegedly committed while in power is crucial to his high-profile anti-graft campaign. Aquino won the 2010 presidential elections in a landslide after campaigning to wipe out corruption that he said crippled Philippine society during the nearly 10 years Arroyo was in power.