On July 10, 2012, the Ombudsman charged in the Sandiganbayan former President Gloria

Macapagal-Arroyo and  PCSO Budget and Accounts Manager Aguas (and some other officials of PCSO
and Commission on Audit whose charges were later dismissed by the Sandiganbayan after their
respective demurrers to evidence were granted, except for Uriarte and Valdes who were at large) for
conspiracy to commit plunder, as defined by, and penalized under Section 2 (b)  of Republic Act (R.A.)
No. 7080, as amended by R.A. No. 7659. The Supreme Court of the Philippines dismissed corruption
charges on Tuesday against a former president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and ordered her release from
a Manila hospital where she has been detained since 2012.

The court, voting 11 to 4, ruled that there was insufficient evidence to bring a case against Mrs. Arroyo
in connection with the misuse of 366 million pesos in lottery funds during her administration, worth
about $8.8 million at the time of her arrest. Lawyers for Mrs. Arroyo contended that prosecutors did not
prove that the mishandled funds went to her. She had been charged with plunder, which disqualified
her for bail, but her lawyers said a spinal problem made her eligible for humanitarian release as she
awaited trial.