Manila – Former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo was released from detention Thursday following nearly five years in a military hospital after the Supreme Court dismissed her corruption charges, her lawyer said.

The 69-year-old who suffers from a spinal illness was accused of stealing 366 million pesos (S$119.3 million) in state lottery funds meant for charity programmes while she was in office between 2001 and 2010.

The Supreme Court threw out the case Tuesday, citing insufficient evidence, but her release was delayed for procedural reasons.

“It’s a happy day today because she has just been freed,” said Laurence Arroyo, who is also a distance relative through marriage.

A convoy of vehicles carrying Arroyo, her supporters and lawyers was seen leaving the suburban hospital compound near Manila but she could not be seen from her car’s tinted windows.

Her lawyers said that after being freed Arroyo would go to a private hospital for a check-up.

In a statement issued by her lawyers Wednesday, Arroyo thanked the Supreme Court and newly-installed President Rodrigo Duterte for not standing in the way of her release.

Government Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales defended the decision to charge Arroyo for plunder, and said on Wednesday she was preparing another corruption charge against her.

The former leader was jailed in 2011 under the administration of arch critic, then-president Benigno Aquino.

Aquino questioned the ruling to free Arroyo on Thursday, saying she should be held accountable for the mismanagement of funds that were supposed “to alleviate the suffering of many of our countrymen”.

Duterte succeeded Aquino in June, and said he was willing to pardon Arroyo.

Another of Arroyo’s lawyers, Estelito Mendoza, had suggested that the Supreme Court waited until Aquino stepped down before issuing its ruling as a “courtesy” to Aquino.

Arroyo was initially arrested on charges of electoral sabotage for allegedly conspiring with election officials to rig 2007 senatorial polls.

Because of her illness, the government allowed her to be detained in a military hospital.

She was granted bail for the vote-rigging case in July 2012 after the court – while not dismissing the charge – ruled evidence against her was weak.

But the corruption case against Arroyo was lodged the same year, keeping her in detention.

Despite being detained, Arroyo has won a seat in the House of Representatives in the past three elections, serving as a congresswoman while being held in the hospital.

Taipei – Distraught relatives of 24 Chinese tourists who died after a fire ripped through their bus in Taiwan broke down in tears Thursday as they arrived on the island to identify their loved ones.

The mainland tour group was travelling just a few kilometres away from Taipei’s Taoyuan airport to catch a flight home Tuesday when their bus was engulfed in flames and careered through an expressway barrier, killing all 26 on board, including a Taiwanese driver and guide.

Investigators are probing the cause of the accident and say the fire started at the front of the bus, near the driver’s seat.

Questions are still swirling over why none of the passengers were able to escape through emergency exits.

One female relative in her 50s collapsed in tears and pounded a table in front of gold-framed portraits of the dead – including three children – at a funeral parlour near the airport, where the bodies are being kept.

Two other women sank to their knees in front of the images of the victims.

They were among dozens of relatives who arrived at the parlour as Buddhist volunteers chanted outside.

The family members bowed three times in front of the portraits and laid white flowers in front of them.

They then returned to their hotel where they will meet Taiwanese officials Thursday evening.

Chinese officials have demanded Taiwan take measures to ensure the safety of mainland visitors to the island, after a number of fatal accidents involving tourists from China in recent years.

Liu Kezhi, secretary-general of China’s Association for Tourism Exchange across the Taiwan Straits, expressed “strong dissatisfaction” over the accident.

“I hope Taiwan will take real measures and put high importance on the safety of mainland tourists, so that similar issues will not happen again,” Liu told reporters after paying his respects to the dead.

Taiwan’s Premier Lin Chuan also paid his respects at the parlour Thursday.

Relatives were due to have DNA samples taken to help with identification on their arrival at the airport, according to the Travel Agent Association, which is coordinating their stay.

They will only be able to see the bodies of their family members after the DNA results have been processed, which will take a day, the association said.

The group from China’s northeastern Dalian City was on an eight-day trip around the island, taking in popular spots including Alishan nature reserve and Taroko Gorge.

A highway police officer and a truck driver tried to save the trapped tourists, with pictures showing them attempting to smash windows with fire extinguishers.

One eye witness said passengers inside the bus had been pounding on windows as the bus swerved off the highway.

A post-mortem carried out on the driver’s badly burnt body revealed he had inhaled a large amount of smoke, prosecutors said.