DOJ ORDERS ARROYOS, ABALOS ON WATCHLIST / DRILON: THIS ORDER IS ILLEGAL
[EARLIER PHOTO OF MR. AND MRS. MIKE ARROYO (NEE REP GLORIA ARROYO]
MANILA, OCTOBER 29, 2011 (STAR) By Edu Punay - The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued another order yesterday placing former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo in the immigration watchlist.
The issuance of the order came just as the Arroyos were preparing to travel abroad to seek medical treatment for the former president's rare disease in her cervical spine.
The couple reportedly planned to make the trip on Nov. 1. The order, in effect, extends the first watchlist order issued against Mrs. Arroyo in connection with the three plunder charges she is facing. The order is valid for 60 days.
Mr. Arroyo said he would sue Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for gross ignorance of the law and grave abuse of authority.
The latest watchlist order was issued through Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III as part of the preliminary investigation into the couple's alleged involvement in elections cheating in 2007.
Justice and elections officials are jointly conducting the preliminary investigation.
The second watchlist order also effectively revived an earlier one against the former first gentleman, which has since been lifted.
The first watchlist order against Mr. Arroyo stemmed from his alleged anomalous sale of helicopters to the Philippine National Police in 2009.
Mr. Arroyo had argued that DOJ Circular No. 41, which provides for motu proprio issuance of watchlist order by the DOJ chief, violated his constitutional right to travel, to due process, and to equal protection of the subjects of the order.
"We stand by the constitutionality of DC No. 41. It remains valid since it was not nullified by the Supreme Court," De Lima told reporters earlier.
"The DOJ is the chief implementer of the country's criminal justice system. What I'm doing is just implementing the rules," the DOJ chief explained.
De Lima said anyone in the watchlist order would have to apply for an allow departure order from the DOJ before he or she could be allowed to leave the country.
De Lima said she would decide today on Mrs. Arroyo's application for allow departure order. Mr. Arroyo, on the other hand, does not have any application and may not be able to make the trip on Monday.
His lawyer Ferdinand Topacio called the order "most cruel and inhuman, and evinces a lack of compassion and common human decency in the leaders of the present administration."
"President Aquino must be reminded that even during Martial Law during the height of the Marcos rule which the Aquinos and their allies have consistently denounced and even at present continue to demonize, the Aquino family was allowed to leave to join Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. for medical attention in the United States," Topacio said in a statement.
"It is thus most execrable for the present government to accord such treatment to the Arroyos that is worse than what they experienced during the Marcos administration," he said.
Aside from the Arroyos, also placed on the watchlist were former elections chief Benjamin Abalos Sr., former commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, detained former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., former provincial administrator Norie Unas, former provincial election supervisor Lintang Bedol, and 19 election officers and assistants.
Also covered by the watchlist order were lawyer Jaime Paz, former Justice secretary Alberto Agra, regional poll director lawyer Michael Abas, Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Region XII director Col. Reuben Basiao, a certain Major Joey Leaban and Capt. Peter Reyes, and former poll supervisors Lilian Radam and Yogie Martirizar.
Ignorance of the law
Mr. Arroyo, meanwhile, yesterday vowed to sue De Lima for violating the Constitution with her issuance of an order placing him and his wife in the immigration watchlist
"We will question this highly illegal order and file a case against Secretary De Lima for gross ignorance of the law and grave abuse of authority because it sets a dangerous precedent to all those who may find themselves in the receiving end of this government's reckless attacks," Mr. Arroyo said in a text message.
"This administration is proving to be ruthless in its regard for the rights and welfare of the people, most especially the Arroyos," Mr. Arroyo said.
He pointed out that De Lima's justification for her move was the filing of an electoral sabotage case against him by her former client Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III.
"Why the haste? Is Secretary Leila de Lima following orders from a former client? Is she still the lawyer of Senator Pimentel?" he said.
He said De Lima's action "has shown this administration's callous obsession to further malign us before the public at the expense of our institutions' due process and justice."
Topacio said De Lima's placing his client in the watchlist order "prevents Mr. Arroyo from discharging his marital obligation to stand by his wife 'in sickness and in health' and deprives the former President of the moral support of her complete family."
Allies' concern
De Lima's order also drew criticism from two administration allies in the Senate, Senators Franklin Drilon and Francis Escudero.
"The watchlist, which has the effect of a hold departure order, is illegal. In my opinion, the watchlist order, which prevents a citizen from traveling, is a violation of the Constitution," Sen. Franklin Drilon, a former Justice secretary, said.
"The right to travel is a constitutional right and a restriction on the right to travel in the guise of a watchlist order is also illegal," he added.
He said the former President has not been charged in court and hence cannot be barred from traveling abroad.
Assistant Chief State Counsel Pastor Benavidez, during a public hearing at the Senate yesterday, admitted that a hold departure order may only be issued by the regular courts.
"Therefore a hold departure order issued by the Justice Secretary, to me, has no legal basis," Drilon said.
He also said it was wrong for De Lima to invoke as basis for her issuance an Arroyo-era DOJ circular.
"She (de Lima) should revoke the circular issued by the previous administration because it cannot be supported by the provisions of the Bill of Rights. It's repugnant to the provisions of the Constitution on the right to travel," he said. – With Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy
FROM YAHOO! ASIA
Drilon: DOJ's watch list order vs. Arroyos 'illegal' By Shielo Mendoza | Yahoo! Southeast
The watch list order against former President and current Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo and others implicated in the electoral sabotage is illegal, said Senator Franklin Drilon.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has placed in the immigration watch list Thursday all respondents in the two electoral sabotage cases filed before the joint DOJ-Commission on Elections (Comelec) Preliminary Investigation Committee in connection with the 2007 polls.
Arroyo, together with her husband Atty. Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo and 38 others, is included in the watch list order.
Drilon, however, said that the watch list order is illegal as it impinges on the constitutionally-guaranteed right to travel.
"The watch list order which has the effect of a hold departure order is illegal. To me, the watch list order that encroaches on the right of a person to travel is contrary to the Constitution," Drilon said in an ambush interview after a Senate hearing Thursday on the Right to Travel Act.
The respondents cannot leave the country without seeking prior permission from the DOJ while the watch list order is in effect.
Drilon believes that under current rules, a watch list order is in effect a hold departure order because a person who is placed under watch list should apply for an allow departure order before the individual can travel.
The senator likewise questioned the continuing authority of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for issuing, in effect, a hold departure order "in the guise of a watch list order" since only the regional trial courts can issue hold departure orders in cases within their jurisdiction.
"The right to travel is a constitutional right and a restriction on the right to travel in the guise of a watch list order is also illegal," he added.
Drilon, a former Justice secretary, pointed out that while the Arroyos must be made to answer to countless allegations of electoral cheating, the Aquino administration should follow proper procedures.
"Whether or not you are in the opposition or in the administration, these rules should govern," he said.
According to the lawmaker, several foreign executives in the country have expressed concern on the DOJ's issuance of a travel restriction since "an ordinary commercial dispute can be made to appear to be a violation of criminal laws and on that basis, a hold departure order could be issued."
"It is a continuous restriction on the basic rights of citizens and of individuals which we cannot tolerate in a democratic society," said Drilon.
NEWSFLASH FROM THE TRIBUNE
De Lima defers GMA travel ruling, seeks DoH help on Arroyo's health
10/29/2011 THE DAILY TRIBUNE
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima (photo) is seeking the assistance of the Department of Health (DoH) in evaluating the medical abstract submitted by former President now incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo before deciding whether to approve her application to travel abroad for treatment.
De Lima yesterday stressed she would need the expert advice from Health Secretary Enrique Ona on the issue of whether Arroyo really needs medical attention abroad and if such need was urgent.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has not received any response from Ona as of closing hours of government office yesterday so she opted to instead make the decision after the long weekend holiday break next week.
"I'm exercising due diligence and extra caution. Before deciding, I have to get all the facts and consider and weigh all factors so I won't commit a mistake," she stressed.
"This is the type of decision where I will surely receive flak from sectors whichever way I decide," she added.
The DoJ was earlier warned that preventing Arroyo to seek treatment abroad would be an "unChristian and inhumane act."
"What is a Christian act in the perspective of justice?" De Lima said as she belied allegation of the Arroyos that the treatment being accorded to them by the Aquino administration was "worse than Martial law."
"I don't think they can accuse this government of being oppressive. Everything we do is within the bounds of law. We are doing our job in the DoJ as instrument of justice in putting closure to the unresolved issues in the past administration," she pointed out.
"This is all about justice and accountability," De Lima added.
De Lima has confirmed that she has received three letters from Arroyo personally asking her to allow the trip and assuring her also that the latter would return to the country to face all the charges against her.
The DoJ chief said she would inform Malacañang of her decision before announcing it to the public on Wednesday.
The Palace, for its part, said President Aquino will defer to the better judgment of De Lima in relation to the request of the former president.
At the same time, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda brushed aside legal opinions made by Aquino's allies including Sen. Franklin Drilon as he noted that Malacañang is more inclined to follow De Lima's position.
"We respect the opinion of Senator Drilon but for the moment and this is a legal presumption that all lawyers are fully aware of, issuances unless overturned by the Supreme Court and enjoy the presumption of constitutionality. So, what Secretary Leila de Lima is doing and she has already expressed this view is that this is an existing regulation and that this is within her powers to do so. So, unless it is overturned by the Supreme Court she will exercise the regulations that are within her ambit," Lacierda stressed.
He added that with De Lima's position, Malacañang is bound to uphold the watch list order (WLO) issued by the DoJ despite raging questions on its constitutionality considering that Arroyo has no pending case that should have been the basis of the WLO.
"We will leave with the secretary of Justice the wisdom of whether this is being reviewed. I remember during a Senate hearing Senator Drilon has already expressed to Secretary De Lima his legal opinion on the matter," Lacierda said although he claimed that he has yet to see the petition of Arroyo requesting that she'd be allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Lacierda said the circumastances surrounding Arroyo's travel request — which was already approved by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte — would have to be studied first.
"We would have to defer to Secretary Leila de Lima for now. We don't know yet," he added.
Last Thursday, De Lima issued another order placing Arroyo and espouse, former First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo on the Immigration watchlist.
The watchlist order was issued relative to the joint preliminary investigation of the DoJ and Commission on Elections on charges linking the former First Couple to cheating in the 2007 elections in Mindanao.
The 10-page order extends the first WLO against Mrs. Arroyo that stemmed from the three plunder charges she has faced before the department.
It also revived the earlier WLO against Mr. Arroyo, which was issued in connection to Senate's investigation on the alleged anomalous purchase of Philippine National Police helicopters in 2009 but was later on lifted after it was temporarily stopped by the Supreme Court. Benjamin B. Pulta and Virgilio J. Bugaoisan
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