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Mike Arroyo placed on Immigration watch list


Former First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo may be receiving medical treatment in Hong Kong, but that does not preclude the Department of Justice from placing him on the Bureau of Immigration's watch list. On Thursday afternoon, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima announced that she has just issued the watch list order against Mr. Arroyo and his alleged secretary, Rowena del Rosario. De Lima added the Immigration bureau told her that it had no record of Mr. Arroyo's departure from the country. She, however, said that she is still checking with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines if it has information on Mr. Arroyo's departure. The CAAP has records of those leaving the country through non-commercial flights. "I'm checking from the CAAP, so it's possible na nag-charter flight. Wala sa records ng BI, so he did not take a commercial flight. That's why pinapa-check ko pa. I'm still waiting for the call of the head of the CAAP. If there's no record of that, then he's not out of the country probably," said De Lima.

Senate probe on PNP choppers The DOJ's issuance of the watch list order stems from the request of Senate blue ribbon committee chair Teofisto Guingona III. An individual placed on the Immigration watch list must first ask the DOJ to lift the order before he or she can travel abroad. The person must also present the government-issued clearance before leaving the country. It is less restrictive than a hold departure order, which automatically bars an individual from leaving the country. De Lima said the issuance of the order is not futile because it instructs the BI to report to the DOJ when Mr. Arroyo returns. The DOJ will then report to Guingona that the former First Gentleman is back in the country. "If he (Mr. Arroyo) intends to leave again, he must first seek a clearance, not an injunction, against leaving," she added. Earlier in the day, GMA News' Hong Kong stringer Corazon Cañete reported that Mr. Arroyo has vowed to return to the Philippines on Monday. Mr. Arroyo is facing a Senate blue ribbon committee's inquiry into the Philippine National Police's acquisition of multi-million peso second-hand helicopters in 2009. Mr. Arroyo was said to be the previous owner of choppers that were sold as brand new to the PNP. Last month, Mr. Arroyo denied selling used helicopters to the PNP. Who is Rowena del Rosario? At a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing earlier this week, businessman Archibald Po said that Del Rosario was present when he personally handed $700,000 to Mr. Arroyo for the sale of the latter's two allegedly pre-owned helicopters to the PNP. The name "Rowena del Rosario" appears in the incorporation papers of La Vista Investment Holdings, Inc., a company declared in former President Arroyo's Statement of Assets Liabilities and Networth (SALNs) in 2008 and 2009. Based on Mrs. Arroyo's 2008 and 2009 SALNs, Mr. Arroyo was also listed as a stockholder of La Vista Investments and Holdings Inc. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMA News
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