As it did not receive a formal request from the camp of former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will not yet decide if there is sufficient basis to lift the watch list order against her. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima made the statement following Malacañang's statement that it is up to the DOJ if it will revoke the watch list order. Arroyo was reportedly advised by her doctors to seek medical treatment abroad. "The WLO is still there, whether or not I will lift it depends on what the justification is, if there will be such a request. So I don't like to comment on that without the formal request to me," said De Lima. On Tuesday last week, the DOJ ordered the Bureau of Immigration to include Mrs. Arroyo on its watch list for 60 days. De Lima earlier said Watch List Order No. 2011-422 against Arroyo stemmed from the following issues:
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. Individuals placed on the list must first seek a clearance before leaving the country. On the other hand, individuals who are subjects of hold departure orders are automatically barred from going abroad. Speculations of Mrs. Arroyo's health making a turn for the worse cropped up last weekend following reports quoting her legal spokesperson Raul Lambino as saying that the Pampanga lawmaker's doctors recommended that she get medical treatment abroad. Lambino denied making the claim. In a statement issued on Monday, Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda criticized Lambino for his supposed recantation. "We are not alone in being puzzled why attorney-turned-doctor Lambino decided to comment on the medical condition of his client," said Lacierda. "We are not surprised, however, that in apparently having to make an about-face for whatever reason, he disowns his previous statements by engaging in the usual squid tactics to push the political line that Rep. Arroyo faces persecution and not justice," Lacierda added. - VVP, GMA News 
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