DOJ chief: No 'secrecy' in deportation of 14 Taiwanese

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Monday branded as "baseless" the allegations that the government kept Taiwan officials out of the loop in connection with the deportation of 14 Taiwanese to mainland China. "You have to understand that the deportation proceedings is summary in nature. Bureau of Immigration commissioner Rolando Ledesma issued notices and letters for them [the Taiwanese nationals] to produce their original passports. So I don't think there's a basis for those accusations," De Lima told reporters. De Lima's office supervises the Bureau of Immigration, which deported 14 Taiwanese and 10 Chinese to mainland China last February 2. The 24 foreigners were arrested in December last year for their supposed involvement in a multi-million dollar criminal activity using the Internet and mobile gadgets. The arrests were made upon Beijing's request. The deportation was made despite attempts by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) officials and lawyers to have the 14 Taiwanese brought to Taiwan, and despite the Philippine Court of Appeals' issuance of a writ of habeas corpus on six of the 14 Taiwanese. The writ directed the BI to produce the six Taiwanese before the appellate court last February 2. As it turned out, the BI deported the 24 foreigners that day. The Court of Appeals had asked BI chief Ledesma to explain why he should not be cited in contempt for supposedly defying the court's order. Taiwan exec slams 'secrecy' TECO special representative Donald Lee, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the Philippines, had slammed the DOJ for its supposed failure to give the Taiwanese a fair trial under Philippine laws and for keeping their arrest and deportation secret. A report on BusinessMirror last Sunday quoted the Taiwanese nationals' lawyers as saying TECO asked the DOJ and the BI regarding the Taiwanese suspects but the lawyers were supposedly denied information. The lawyers likewise claimed the Taiwanese had valid passports, but these were confiscated and hidden by Philippine officials. The BI then supposedly conducted a "secret hearing" last February 1, ruling that the 14 Taiwanese were undocumented aliens and should thus be deported to mainland China along with the 10 Chinese. Lee then said that the Philippines should have consulted with TECO in the case of the 14 Taiwanese because of an existing Taiwan straits agreement with China. Under this agreement, Taiwan and China discuss how to deal with their nationals. "Through an established mechanism between the two sides of the Taiwan straits, my government and the People’s Republic of China will consult with each other to settle the said case. The Philippine administration should not have intervened in the Taiwan straits affairs," Lee said. De Lima asserts regularity of deportation De Lima had earlier insisted that the Philippines lawfully deported the 14 Taiwanese to China. She added that the Taiwanese suspects were only able to produce "photocopies of their alleged passports." She added that apart from the absence of the authentic travel documents, the 14 Taiwanese and the 10 Chinese were subjects of standing international arrest warrants and Red Notices from the International Criminal Police Organization were issued against them. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News