FORMER President Gloria Arroyo can seek medical treatment abroad if she wants to since Malacañang and Congress will not stop her from leaving the country.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said President Benigno Aquino will not stand in the way if Mrs. Arroyo wants to be treated abroad. Lacierda however stressed that the Palace is not softening in its stand that the former leader be prosecuted since she is facing a number of plunder and other criminal complaints.

Lacierda emphasized allowing Mrs. Arroyo to seek treatment abroad is not the same as allowing her to evade investigation. He said the former president will have to submit a request to leave since she is in the watch list of the Bureau of Immigration

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. also said they will not bar the Pampanga lawmaker from flying abroad.

“Of course we will not stop her. There is no reason to stop her from getting the best medical attention,” Belmonte said.

Mrs. Arroyo will undergo another major surgery on Tuesday after doctors discovered that she is suffering from cervical spondylosis, a disorder in which there is an abnormal wear on the cartilage and bones of the neck. Doctors said it was the reason why the titanium implant was dislodged.

Mrs. Arroyo is facing a string of plunder and graft cases before the Office of the Ombudsman.