SC stops implementation of watch list order vs Mike Arroyo

UPDATED 4:14 p.m. - The Supreme Court has temporarily removed former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo from the Bureau of Immigration's watch list. In a 13-0 vote, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) that stopped the enforcement of the Department of Justice's watch list order against Mr. Arroyo. "There's no pending case against FG, and thus the watchlist order violates his constitutional right to travel," said SC spokesman and Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez in a text message from Prague. The former First Gentleman, through his counsel Inocencio Ferrer Jr., expressed “elation" over the ruling, even as their camp has yet to receive a copy of the SC decision. "The unanimous decision of the Supreme Court to issue the TRO against the DOJ’s watchlist order is a victory of the Constitution and the rule of law in the Philippines," he said in a statement issued Tuesday. Ferrer added that he hopes the high court will also ultimately junk Department Circular No. 41, which empowers the DOJ chief to issue watchlist and hold departure orders. For her part, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima expressed disappointment with the high court's move, even as she said it was "not surprising." She then vowed that the DOJ will defend the issuance of the watch list order before the SC. "While [it is] a disappointing development, it's not really surprising that a TRO was issued considering that this is the first time that the Secretary of Justice's power to issue [watch list orders] has been squarely raised before the high court," De Lima said in a text message. "The DOJ will take this opportunity to defend such power of its Secretary and to let this matter be settled once and for all. It's a challenge to us to prepare and articulate before the SC solid and convincing arguments in support of our position," she added. Unconstitutional? On August 12, Mr. Arroyo asked the high court to nullify Watchlist Order No. 2011-410 dated August 4, 2011 and Department of Justice Circular No. 41 for being unconstitutional. The department circular, issued by former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra in May 2010, empowers the DOJ secretary to issue watch list orders against persons who are subjects of investigations. The watch list order against Mr. Arroyo stemmed from the Senate blue ribbon committee's request to place him on the Immigration watch list. The Senate panel is looking into Philippine National Police's acquisition of multi-million peso secondhand helicopters in 2009. Mr. Arroyo was said to have been the previous owner of two choppers that were sold as brand new to the PNP. The husband of then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has since denied owning the controversial helicopters. 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. Alleged violation of rights In his petition, the former First Gentleman said that the watch list order violated his constitutional right to travel, to due process, and to the equal protection of laws. "The request to place petitioner on a watch list and the compliance therewith by the Secretary of Justice clearly show a biased and ill-motivated behavior. Indeed, it is an implementation of a supposed DOJ circular with an evil eye and uneven hand," he added. He then noted that De Lima issued the watch list order on the same day that the Senate blue ribbon committee sent a letter requesting her to issue a watch list order against him and his reported bookkeeper, Rowena del Rosario. "At any rate, respondent De Lima, on the same day, August 4, 2011, with such blinding speed and apparently not having read yet the transcript of stenographic notes of the said hearing, issued the watch list order, placing petitioner in the watch list of the Bureau of Immigration, thus impairing the constitutional right of petitioner to free, unrestrained and unhampered travel to and from the Philippines," the petition said. Mr. Arroyo questioned why out of all the witnesses and probable respondents in the Senate inquiry, only he and Del Rosario were placed on the Immigration watch list. "Some individuals implicated in irregularities before the Philippine Senate are placed on the DOJ watch list, while others are not. There is a clear violation of the equal protection clause under the Constitution," he said. "More glaringly, some individuals have been recommended, through a Senate Committee Report no less, by a Senate committee for prosecution and yet they are not placed on a watch list," he added. He also said his constitutional right to travel can only be impaired "in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health, as may be provided by law." "As if adding insult to injury, inclusion in a watch list order means that the traveler must first seek the prior permission of the Secretary of Justice before one can exercise his constitutional right to travel or that his travel must be delayed involuntarily," Mr. Arroyo said. "The mere imposition of this requirement upon a hapless citizen, such as petitioner, constitutes a degrading impairment of one's constitutional right to travel," he added. Mr. Arroyo also underscored that there is no pending case against him, and thus, there are no grounds to put him on the Immigration watch list. "It cannot be denied that to be placed on the DOJ watch list implies something derogatory. It implies that the person placed on the watch list has committed something terribly wrong. Indeed, it can never be said that to be placed on the DOJ watch list is something to be proud of or something to be proclaimed as a badge of honor," the petition read. - with Andreo Calonzo/VVP/RSJ, GMA News