SC asked to dismiss Mike Arroyo’s petition vs watch list order

Government lawyers on Monday asked the Supreme Court to dismiss former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo’s petition against the watch list order issued against him by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last month. In a motion and manifestation submitted to the high court, Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz said Mr. Arroyo’s petition has already been rendered “moot and academic" after Justice Secretary Leila de Lima ordered the lifting of the watch list order last Thursday. De Lima issued the watch list order against Mr. Arroyo last Aug. 4 after he was linked during a Senate blue ribbon committee investigation to the allegedly anomalous sale of second-hand choppers to the Philippine National Police in 2009. More than a week later, the former First Gentleman asked the SC to void the watch list order and the department circular giving the DOJ chief the power to issue such an order, since these supposedly violated his constitutional right to travel, to due process, and to equal protection. Last August 23, the SC asked the DOJ to temporarily remove Mr. Arroyo from the Bureau of Immigration’s watch list, saying the DOJ order may have violated Mr. Arroyo’s right to travel. De Lima lifted last week the watch list order since the Senate blue ribbon committee has already indicated that it is not anymore inclined to invite Mr. Arroyo to its inquiry. - Andreo C. Calonzo/KBK, GMA News