GOVT WILL FULLY DEFEND WATCHLIST VS MIKE A. / DOJ LIFTS WATCHLIST VS MIKE!
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 2, 2011 (STAR) By Edu Punay - The government will invoke the powers of the executive and legislative branches in defending before the Supreme Court (SC) its watchlist order against former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in connection with his alleged involvement in an anomalous sale of helicopters to the Philippine National Police in 2009, Solicitor General Joel Cadiz said yesterday.
In an ambush interview, Cadiz said they would ask the SC to lift its temporary restraining order on the watchlist order issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
"Everytime we defend a case, we discuss options. And the only option at this time is to defend it (watchlist order) fully," he said.
Cadiz said they would argue in a motion to be submitted to the high court tomorrow that the watchlist order was issued by DOJ based on its power under Circular No. 41 and upon the request of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee that is investigating the alleged anomalous chopper sale.
"Let us remember that the watchlist order was issued pursuant to a Senate investigation, so this is totally different from having a case filed before the prosecution," he argued.
"The Senate has subpoena powers. It has power to detain. That is why the watchlist order was issued by DOJ," the chief government lawyer added.
Cadiz issued this statement after a closed-door meeting with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.
De Lima said her office would tell the SC of the repercussions of the DOJ's being denied its authority to issue the watchlist order as stipulated in DOJ Circular No. 41, issued ironically by the previous administration.
"Of course, we will fight for that. Can you imagine if we will be denied altogether the power to issue watchlist order? What will happen to those respondents in high-profile and sensitive case, especially those who have the propensity to flee and who will be able to do so, because we would not have measure and mechanism to prevent them from leaving?" she stressed.
De Lima reiterated that she has a motu proprio power to issue watchlist order "as a weapon, an adjunct to my role as primary implementor of the criminal justice system."
"I hope we will know what the exact parameters are of the power of secretary of Justice to issue watchlist order. Maybe the SC can provide right and reasonable limitations on that power. But I hope they don't take it all away from us," she pointed out.
DOJ lifts watchlist order vs Mike A (The Philippine Star) Updated September 02, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (10) View comments
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) lifted yesterday its order placing former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo on its watchlist for his alleged involvement in the supposedly anomalous purchase of police helicopters in 2009.
The DOJ lifted the order a week after the Supreme Court stopped its implementation through a temporary restraining order.
The alleged irregularities in the purchase of helicopters by the Philippine National Police (PNP) are now being investigated by the Senate.
In a press conference, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she based her decision on a letter from Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, informing her that Arroyo's presence is no longer needed in their investigation of the anomalies in the purchase of the choppers.
"According to Senator Guingona, his committee has given weight to medical evaluation (of Arroyo's physician) and decided not to summon him anymore," she told reporters.
Philippine Heart Center executive director Manuel ChuaChiaco Jr. had certified that subjecting Arroyo to Senate hearings may cause hypertension, thus putting his life in danger.
De Lima said that with the issuance of the order from the Senate committee, the watchlist order "has no leg to stand on anymore."
She clarified that her decision to lift the order was not influenced by the issuance of a restraining order by the SC. She believes lifting of the watchlist order would also make the petition against it in the SC moot. Still, the DOJ will answer the petition and file a comment as required by the court.
"Instead of a full comment, what will be filed by the OSG will just be a manifestation in lieu of this development that the TRO was lifted," she explained.
It is still up to the SC, however, to determine if the case is already moot or if it will still rule on the merits of Arroyo's petition questioning the validity of the watchlist order against him.
Arroyo had asked the SC to void the watchlist order and DOJ Circular No. 41 because these supposedly violated his constitutional right to travel, to due process, and to equal protection.
Granting his petition, the SC issued on Aug. 23 a temporary restraining order – a provisional remedy that could still be lifted – through a unanimous vote of 13 justices due to "probable violation" of the petitioner's constitutional right to travel.
The high tribunal likewise considered the "irreparable harm" that the watchlist order could cause Arroyo should the high court allow its implementation and later on rule against it.
This means that should the court resolve the case in favor of Arroyo and nullify the watchlist order without stopping it, the petitioner would be deprived of his right to travel.
Even if the order was already lifted, the high court may still rule on the constitutionality of Circular No. 41, Secretary De Lima added.
With the order lifted, Arroyo no longer needs to secure clearance from the DOJ or the Senate whenever he leaves the country.
Earlier, De Lima said she welcomed the filing of the petition because it would test, for the first time, the power of her office to issue a watchlist order.
"I hope we will know what the exact parameters are of the power of the Secretary of Justice to issue watchlist order. Maybe the SC can provide right and reasonable limitations on that power. But I hope they don't take it all away from us," she said.
'Vindicated'
Arroyo said he felt vindicated by the lifting of the watchlist order against him.
"It (watchlist order) was really so blatantly illegal," he said. His lawyer, Innocencio Ferrer, said he has yet to receive an official copy of the order removing his client from the DOJ watchlist.
"We are happy to hear that from the news. But we will still file a manifestation before the Supreme Court to ask it to rule once and for all if possible on the legality and constitutionality of the Department of Justice Circular No. 41 to declare it as unconstitutional," he said in a phone interview. – Edu Punay, Paolo Romero
FROM MANILA TIMES
Surgery may have caused GMA's bone problem Written by : Joel M. Sy Egco, Assignments Editor
Photo - Rep. Gloria Arroyo)
THE bone problem of former president and now Rep. Gloria Arroyo of Pampanga province may not be "inherent" at all as her doctors claimed since hypoparathyroidism, blamed for the failure of a titanium implant to stick to her spine, could have been caused by a failed surgery.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Arroyo's attending physician, Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes of the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City (Metro Manila), clarified that contrary to their initial findings, the infection detected on the former president's cervical spine was not the only reason for the failure of the second surgery but also from the patient's "malfunctioning parathyroid" glands and some "metabolic issues."
This was confirmed by Dr. Brian Cabral, the head of the Renal Diseases and Transplant Services of the St. Luke's, who said that Mrs. Arroyo's "malfunctioning parathyroid, not just infection, contributed to the failure of the second surgery."
"That's why the implant did not take off," he added
"Upon investigation, what we feel is that she has latent hypothyroidism, which controls how calcium and phosphorus are being used. And we all knew, calcium has a lot to do with bone strength," Cabral said.
Further, Cabral revealed that "there were no indications prior to surgery that it would be an issue."
He stressed that this bone problem "revealed itself after the second surgery," done on August 9 at St. Lukes'.
A check made by The Manila Times on the nature of hypoparathyroidism showed that its most common cause is "injury to the parathyroid glands during head and neck surgery."
Previous studies posted on the Internet about this rare disease indicated that hypoparathyroidism resulted in increased calcium deposition into bones, accompanied by increased bone density, but at the same time, a higher fragility status, believed to result from faulty bone remodeling in the absence of parathyroid hormone (PTH) activity.
Serious medical condition The consequence, known as "Hypocalcaemia", is a serious medical condition.
"Removal of or trauma to the parathyroid glands in "Thyroid" thyroid surgery ["Thyroidectomy"] or other neck surgeries is a recognized cause," one study said.
But it said that "Surgery" surgeons today can spare them during procedures after identifying them.
"In a small percentage of cases, however, they can become traumatized during surgery and/or their blood supply can be compromised. When this happens the parathyroids may cease functioning for a while or stop altogether," the study added.
On July 29, Mrs. Arroyo went under the knife to repair her damaged cervical spine.
She was first rushed to the St Lukes' after complaining of severe neck pains.
Her pinched nerve, doctors said, was caused by her damaged spinal column.
Days after her surgery, she was rushed back to the hospital after experiencing numbness on her extremities.
Doctors declared afterwards that a second operation done on August 3 on her cervical spine failed as they tried to restore the titanium implant.
They assured that they were trying their best to control the infection in the nerve area affected by the surgery.
Cabral explained that there was no indication that hypoparathyroidism will become an issue during the second surgery.
To correct this deficiency, doctors are now giving Mrs. Arroyo "ample building blocks and other therapies to redirect calcium toward her bones."
"It's unfortunate na ganito ang nangyari [that this happened] but now we have already gained control of this," Cabral said.
Cervantes said that the third cervical spine surgery may be done on Tuesday next week, or a week earlier than scheduled.
"We decided the next surgery will be held earlier than scheduled, tentatively on Tuesday, subject to further evaluation," she told reporters.
Doctors will place bone graft (tissues will be taken from her pelvic bones) on Mrs. Arroyo's cervical spine to reinforce the weak bones.
The growth of the bone graft will take from three to four weeks.
The book, ANZ Journal of Surgery, describes post-operative partial hypoparathyroidism as an "under-recognized disorder"
Besides trauma to the parathyroid glands during head and neck surgery, other divergent causes of hypoparathyroidism are: "Autoimmune disorder" autoimmune invasion and destruction, the most common non-surgical cause; "Hemochromatosis", which can lead to iron accumulation and consequent dysfunction of a number of endocrine organs, including the parathyroids; absence or dysfunction of the parathyroid glands which is also know as DiGeorge syndrome, Schprintzen syndrome and velocardiofacial syndrome; "Magnesium deficiency (medicine)" Magnesium deficiency; some very "Rare disease" and "Idiopathic diseases" (of unknown cause), which are occasionally familial.
Hypocalcemia, a potentially life-threatening condition which results from hypoparathyroidism, is treated as soon as possible with "Intravenous" "Calcium"(e.g. as calcium gluconate).
Long-term treatment of hypoparathyroidism is with calcium and vitamin D. "Teriparatide", a synthetic form of PTH and which is presently registered for "Osteoporosis" might become the treatment of choice for PTH supplementation, although further studies are awaited.
"In the event of a life-threatening attack of low calcium levels or tetany [prolonged muscle contractions], calcium is administered by intravenous [IV] infusion. Precautions are taken to prevent seizures or larynx spasms. The heart is monitored for abnormal rhythms until the person is stable. When the life-threatening attack has been controlled, treatment continues with medicine taken by mouth as often as four times a day," one study on the disease said. WITH REPORT FROM SAMMY MARTIN
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