Philippine first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo boarded a flight to Hong Kong Thursday night, a day after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that her husband had decided to go into foreign exile to avoid controversy over her troubled presidency, local media said.

Jesus Santos, the lawyer of Jose Miguel Arroyo, said his client would announce from Hong Kong where he planned to go into foreign exile.

However, the first gentleman will return to face any charges that might be filed in connection with allegations that he received payoffs from operators of jueteng, the underground gambling, according to Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye.

Bunye dismissed speculation that the first gentleman had no intention of returning to face allegations being investigated by the Senate.

Mr. Arroyo was accompanied by son Diosdado Ignacio, his son's wife Cacai, their daughter Eva Victoria and a nanny. Their Philippine Airlines flight took off at 06:15 pm Thursday local time.

The first gentleman refused to speak to reporters before boarding his flight. However, he said via his lawyer that "he was neither charged nor convicted of anything but he had to go to remove any distraction from his wife. "

President Arroyo told a business conference Monday that her husband had opted to go into exile to avoid any controversies that could further undermine her presidency. "As a wife, I'm grateful to my husband for his sacrifice, " she said.

Jose Miguel Arroyo was a lawyer who stopped practicing when his wife came to power to avoid conflict-of-interest issues, but still being portrayed as an influence peddler working behind the scenes under his wife's protection.

The first gentleman and his eldest son and younger brother-in- law are now all facing charges of taking payoffs from jueteng operators.

In 2003, an accusation of money laundering was hurled against Jose Miguel Arroyo by Senator Panfilo Lacson, who accused the first gentleman of keeping secret local bank accounts under the alias Jose Pidal. Endtiem

Source: Xinhua