ARROYOS ASKS SUPREME COURT TO NULLIFY WATCHLIST FOR GMA TO TRAVEL
[PHOTO COURTESY OF MANILA BULLETIN - GLORIA IN A BIND: Photographs of President-turned-Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during her medical examination are attached as evidence in the petition filed Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, by her lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, challenging the watch list orders (WLOs) issued against her by the Department of Justice which prevents her from seeking medical remedies abroad. (Photo by LINUS G. ESCANDOR II)]
MANILA, NOVEMBER 9, 2011 (STAR) By Dennis Carcamo - Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, today filed petitions before the Supreme Court, questioning the watchlist order issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against them.
In her 41-page petition, Mrs. Arroyo asked the SC to nullify the watchlist order issued by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. The order prevents Mrs. Arroyo from travelling abroad.
Mrs. Arroyo told the high court that the watchlist order violated her constitutional right to travel.
She also asked the SC to nullify DOJ Circular No. 41, which gives the secretary of justice the authority to order the inclusion of an individual in the immigration watchlist. The watchlist order requires an accused to seek the DOJ's permission before travelling abroad.
"Department Circular No. 41 issued by the DOJ which is not a law enacted by Congress restricts the right to travel, is, on its face, void for being in violation of the Constitution," Mrs. Arroyo, who was represented by lawyer Estilito Mendoza, said in the petition.
The former president also said thta despite her camp's doubt on the validity of the Circular, she complied with the DOJ's request to submit additional documents to support her plea for an Allow Departure Order (ADO) so that she could seek medical treatment abroad.
De Lima had said that she will issue her decision on Mrs. Arroyo's request this week. De Lima went to Malacañang early today and reports said that she was submitting her recommendation on the matter to President Benigno Aquino III.
Arroyo's camp said that because of the alleged "inaction" of the DOJ on her request, her confirmed appointments for October 24 and 31, November 4 and 8 with doctors at the Mt. Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore have been canceled.
"The inability of petitioner GMA to leave for abroad to alleviate or at least, prevent the aggravation of her hypoparathyroidism and metabolic bone disorder has given rise to the danger that the said conditions afflicting petitioner GMA may become permanent and incurable…The matter is of extreme urgency and petitioner GMA will suffer grave injustice and irreparable injury if the enforcement and implementation of the [watchlist order] are not restrained," the petition said.
Ex-FG's separate plea
Meanwhile, Mr. Arroyo's lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, told philstar.com in a phone interview that they will also file a petition on the DOJ's watchlist order this afternoon.
Topacio said he, in behalf of the former first gentleman, will file a petition for certiorari and prohibition asking the high court to nullify the DOJ's Circular 41 which he claims as vague.
"The foremost ground of our petition is the illegality of the DOJ circular simply because it violates the travel clause in the Constitution," Topacio said.
He argued that the DOJ circular should also be voided "for its vagueness."
"It is void for vagueness because it has no standard for persons who would be placed for PI (preliminary investigation). It is the absolute discretion of the Secretary of Justice who should and should not be placed in the watchlist," he said.
De Lima placed the Arroyo couple in the watchlist order for their alleged involvement in the 2007 election fraud. A separate watchlist order was also issued by the DOJ against Mrs. Arroyo for the plunder complaints against her before the department.
A preliminary investigation on the electoral sabotage case by the joint panel of the DOJ-Commission on Elections is now underway.
Aside from the Arroyo couple, also accused of electoral sabotage were several former election officials, including then Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos and poll Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer.
Topacio earlier said that he will also question before the high court the legality of the creation of the DOJ-Comelec fact finding body.
He maintained that the Comelec is an independent constitutional body which should not be cowed by another government agency such as the DOJ.
Legal arena
Mrs. Arroyo's spokesperosn, Maria Elena Bautista-Horn, earlier said that their camp is "shifting our battle into [the] legal arena."
Horn said they feel that there have been several opposition to the request of the Arroyos for a checkup outside the country.
She said the former president has been diagnosed with a metabolic bone mineral disorder, but doctors failed to pinpoint the type of the ailment.
"Which kind yun ang di natin alam," Horn added.
Mrs. Arroyo underwent three operations at the St. Luke's Medical Center-Global City in Taguig since the middle of this year.
Her doctors had said that she has been recuperating well, which is the same findings of Health Secretary Enrique Ona.
Horn, meanwhile, slammed the statement of the Philippine Medical Association that there are many bone specialists in the country who could look at and treat Mrs. Arroyo's condition.
"Ginagawang very simplistic ng PMA ang condition ng former President... Alam natin na gumagawa ng regular bone biopsy dito pero ito ay metabolic bone mineral disorder. Minerals ng buto ang problema so we are asking them for a list of specialists and the protocols they will do. Ibigay na lang ang mga pangalan at 'wag nang mangampanya sa media," she said.
Horn also stressed the urgency of Mrs. Arroyo's treatment abroad, saying that the four parathyroid glands of the former president have not been functioning properly.
"Gusto nating masubukan paandarin uli ang gland na ito. May critical aspect ang timeline. The sooner they regenerate the gland the better," she said.
GMA camp: All documents in By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated November 08, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has "more than substantially complied" with the requirements of the Department of Justice – including a formal promise to return to the country – for her to be allowed to seek medical treatment abroad, her spokesperson said yesterday.
Ma. Elena Bautista-Horn said Arroyo has already submitted three letters, all notarized, to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima since the former president first made the request several weeks ago. In one of her letters, Arroyo made an explicit promise to De Lima to immediately report to her upon her return from medical consultations abroad.
"What more do they (DOJ) want? She already promised that she will return. The DOJ circular requires only two, the letter and the go-signal from prosecutors where the complaints were filed. All the prosecutors have said they have no objections, so what more do they want?" Bautista-Horn said.
She said while the DOJ circular lists only two requirements, Arroyo's lawyers had gone back and forth to De Lima's office as she had demanded other documents, including details of the medical consultations and appointment letters.
"Now she's fit to travel but the health of the former president could again deteriorate. But now she's fit to travel," Bautista-Horn said.
The Akbayan party-list, for its part, challenged Arroyo to "face the music" and submit to investigations into poll fraud instead of "hiding behind her illness."
Risa Hontiveros, Akbayan spokesperson, said the Arroyo camp's failure to explain its apparent lack of confidence in the capability of local doctors to treat Arroyo should cast suspicion on her motive for wanting to leave the country.
Decision today
De Lima, meanwhile, said she is ready to make a decision today on Mrs. Arroyo's request and laughed off accusations that she is using the issue to boost her bid for an elective post in 2013.
"Do they really think I need to have a political ambition first before I do my job as secretary of justice? It's just about a matter of justice and accountability," she told The STAR in an interview yesterday.
Bautista-Horn earlier accused De Lima of using the medical travel request of the former president to gain political mileage for her reported plan to run for senator in 2013. De Lima called Horn's allegations "not worth my while."
De Lima, the most popular Cabinet secretary in the Aquino administration based on surveys, earlier said she was open to running for a public position in 2013 but stressed she would never lose her focus as DOJ chief.
The DOJ chief opted last week not to immediately act on Arroyo's request citing Health Secretary Enrique Ona's observation that the former president did not need urgent treatment abroad. De Lima has been saying that Arroyo's request is not just a medical issue.
She said they also have to establish the real agenda of the Arroyos in pushing hard to be allowed to travel. She noted that most of the countries the Arroyos intend to visit don't have extradition treaty with the Philippines. This means that if a warrant has been issued for Arroyo's arrest while she is abroad, there would be no way for Philippine authorities to bring her back. – With Edu Punay and Christina Mendez
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