Former President and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has requested a seven-day medical and wellness leave overseas from Speaker Martin Romualdez.

According to a statement from her office, Arroyo wants the seven-day medical and wellness leave to encompass session days, which are Mondays through Wednesdays each week.

“She will travel to France and Singapore. She intends, however, to join the sessions of Congress via Zoom while she is out of the country,” the statement said.

“She has been certified by her personal physician as no longer infectious,” the statement continued, “but she could not attend the SONA (State of the Nation Address) because the President’s presence required a negative [RT-] PCR test for all attending the SONA, whereas she tested positive on [RT-]PCR  [for COVID-19] two days before the SONA.”

It was in response to Arroyo’s absence from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s inaugural SONA on July 25.

While she was not physically there, Arroyo joined digitally at the start of the First Regular Session in the morning, voting for Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez for Speaker Of the house.

Arroyo was also Speaker from July 2018 to June 2019, and she was appointed Deputy Speaker on Monday, July 25.