Arroyo pleads not guilty to corruption charges

Arroyo, 65, is suffering from a neck ailment and was wearing a neck brace as police brought her to the anti-graft court on Monday from a military hospital.

She was admitted days before the court served the arrest warrant against her on plunder charges early this month and ordered her confined under guard.

She refused to enter a plea and prompted the judge to record not guilty on her behalf. If found guilty, she could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Ferdinand Topacio, Arroyo's lawyer, said there has been a long "pattern of persecution" against his client.

Topacio was hopeful of the charges being dropped after he managed to get the court to grant Arroyo bail on the first plunder case.

Dozens of people gathered outside the courthouse to show their support for the country's former president.

Arroyo finished her nine-year term in 2010. She is separately charged with vote fraud and in another corruption case, but posted bail.

She had already spent eight months under hospital arrest before she was discharged in June.

Arroyo has accused her successor, Benigno Aquino III, of pursuing a political vendetta.

Aquino was overwhelmingly elected on a promise to rid the Philippines of corruption and has vowed to prosecute Arroyo and her inner circle, blaming them for stealing money for personal gain and for a culture of impunity in which corrupt practices flourished.