AT least two lawmakers yesterday strongly suggested live media coverage on the trial of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s electoral sabotage case which stemmed from her alleged participation in the rigging of the 2007 elections.

Alyansa ng mga Grupong Haligi ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Mamamayan (AGHAM) party-list Rep. Angelo Palmones and San Juan City Rep. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito said live media coverage would help the public monitor the case of Mrs. Arroyo, now a Pampanga lawmaker, and guarantee transparency.

“The public demands for full transparency. This is also an opportunity for the court to prove that Congresswoman GMA gets a fair trial,” said Palmones in an interview.

Mrs. Arroyo was placed under hospital arrest at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City where she is being treated after Judge Jesus Mupas of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 112 ordered her arrest Friday afternoon.

Saying the people have been waiting for the trial of Mrs. Arroyo, Ejercito backed the proposal for live media coverage given the huge public interest involved on the matter.

“I am for live coverage because this is what the Filipino people have been waiting for,” Ejercito stressed in a separate talk.

But Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya Jr., a lawyer, expressed doubts if live media coverage will be allowed, saying there are more cases coming to be filed against Mrs. Arroyo and her cohorts.

“There will be high public interest and curiosity but recent Supreme Court rulings make it very difficult for television stations to cover. Remember this is just the first case and there are more cases to come,” Abaya pointed out.

Instead, Abaya said “a regular reporting of the highlights of the case should be sufficient.”