A protester shouts slogans calling for the imprisonment of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in front of hte Supreme Court Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 in Manila, Philippines. The Supreme Court heard the oral arguments between the government panel and lawyers of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on whether to discard the joint charges on electoral fraud and the arrest warrant issued by a lower court. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)
A protester shouts slogans calling for the imprisonment of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in front of hte Supreme Court Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 in Manila, Philippines. The Supreme Court heard the oral arguments between the government panel and lawyers of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on whether to discard the joint charges on electoral fraud and the arrest warrant issued by a lower court. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) ? Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who tried to leave the country on medical grounds while the government scrambled to file charges against her, is well enough to leave the hospital where she was arrested last week, she and her doctors agree.
Arroyo lawyer Jose Flaminiano told a court Friday he was withdrawing his motion for a hospital arrest in favor of house arrest. Earlier, he had resisted efforts to have doctors testify about Arroyo's condition.
Arroyo is "fit to be released as outpatient," her physician Dr. Mario Ver testified Friday.
Arroyo has had three surgeries on her cervical spine, and she argued before her arrest that she needed to travel abroad for an urgent bone treatment that she claimed was unavailable in the Philippines.
The government refused to let her go this month, even after the Supreme Court ruled in her favor. She wore a head and neck brace as she was turned away from the Manila airport.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima had said government would not object if the court decides on hospital or house arrest as long as Arroyo remains in the country. She said President Benigno Aquino III, Arroyo's successor, wants the former leader treated with respect.
But the Commission on Elections, an independent body that filed the charges against Arroyo, opposes house arrest. Commission lawyer Maria Juana Valesa asked the court to order Arroyo's transfer to a government detention facility.
Judge Jesus Mupas of the Pasay Regional Trial Court gave the commission and Arroyo until Tuesday to submit their motions and comments. In the meantime, clerk of court Joel Pelicano told reporters that Arroyo would remain at St. Luke's hospital.
Arroyo, who left office last year, is charged with ordering the rigging of 2007 congressional polls, which she denies. If convicted, she faces life imprisonment.
Aquino promised to uproot corruption in the Philippines and says he wants to start with Arroyo, accusing her of proliferating a culture of graft and eroding public trust in government.
The judge earlier ordered Arroyo's doctors at Manila's St. Luke's Medical Center to testify about her condition. Flaminiano objected, citing doctor-patient confidentiality and the fact she was no longer seeking a hospital stay, which the court had previously approved on humanitarian grounds and because of Arroyo's stature.
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