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DOJ places Arroyo on Immigration watch list


(Updated 6:57 p.m.) Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has formally ordered the Bureau of Immigration to place former President and current legislator Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on its watch list. On Tuesday evening, De Lima issued Watch List Order No. 2011-422 on the basis that Mrs. Arroyo has three plunder complaints against her pending before the Department of Justice (DOJ). The suits stemmed from the alleged anomalous sale of the old Iloilo airport property in 2007, the P550-million allegedly misused welfare funds for migrant workers, and the P1.6 billion supposedly diverted to her campaign fund in the 2004 presidential elections. GMA News Online was still trying to reach Mrs. Arroyo's lawyer, Raul Lambino, for comment as of posting time. The former president's camp has earlier assailed the DOJ's plan to issue a watch list order against Mrs. Arroyo, saying it is a form of political harassment. A subject of a watch list order must first seek the government's clearance before leaving the country. On the other hand, an individual who a hold departure order issued against him or her is automatically barred from leaving the country. The watch list order against Arroyo is effective for 60 days. DOJ Circular No. 41 gives the Justice secretary the power to motu proprio (on her initiative) issue a watch list order against an individual who is subject to an investigation by the department. In Arroyo's case, separate teams of DOJ prosecutors are still conducting preliminary investigations into the plunder cases against her. A preliminary investigation seeks to determine if there is probable cause that warrants the filing of the appropriate criminal case before the proper courts. De Lima was supposed to issue the watch list order against Arroyo last month but deferred it because the former president was then abroad. Days after she returned to the Philippines, Arroyo was confined at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City and underwent a surgery to correct a damaged cervical spine. This prompted De Lima to defer once again the issuance of the watch list order "for humanitarian reasons." - KBK, GMA News
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