Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday said the preliminary investigation into the supposed poll fraud in southern Philippines in 2007 should not be disrupted in case former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, one of those implicated, will be allowed to leave the country. De Lima said Prosecutor General Claro Arellano and other members of the joint investigation committee should not be deterred by reports that Mrs. Arroyo, an incumbent congresswoman in Pampanga, is planning to seek medical treatment abroad. Members of the investigating team include Commission on Election (Comelec) law department head Ferdinand Rafanan, Comelec lawyer Michael Villaret, Laguna Provincial Prosecutor George Dy, and Pasig City Prosecutor Jacinto Ang. "Iyong intended travel ni former President, that should not be a reason to suspend the proceedings. Tuloy pa rin ang proceedings kaya nag-issue pa rin ng subpoena," said De Lima, , who served as Commission on Human Rights chair during the Arroyo administration. The joint panel on Tuesday started issuing subpoenas to Mrs. Arroyo, her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo, and 40 other individuals linked to the alleged electoral sabotage in Mindanao in the 2007 elections. Other personalities included in the joint panel's probe are former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra, former election supervisor Lintang Bedol, and former Maguindanao provincial administrator Norie Unas, among others.
De Lima: No absentees, please De Lima remained confident that even if Mrs. Arroyo leaves the country, the former President will be represented by her legal counsels during the clarificatory hearings set to start on November 3. The Justice chief said she would not allow the absence of one of the more than 40 respondents to result in a "dilly-dallying" of the joint investigation committee. "
Hindi dapat isipin ng joint PI committee na porket may chance na makaalis ay ide-defer na nila ang proseso nila. No, it should be the other way around.
Hindi dapat DOJ (Department of Justice) ang naga-adjust. Ang maga-adjust dapat is yung respondents," De Lima said. De Lima said during clarificatory hearings, Mrs. Arroyo's presence is not yet required since the committee will just be furnishing the respondents with a copy of the 81-page report of the joint DOJ-Comelec fact-finding panel. After receiving copies of the report, the respondents will be given time to submit their respective counter-affidavits. "This is the rule of law. The process of accountability has formally begun. Therefore, we should do it seriously with earnestness
para at the end of the day,
pagkatapos ng proceedings na ito malaman na natin sino ang dapat managot sa korte. Sino ang i-issue-han ng warrant of arrest after the determination of probable cause," she said.
Request to go abroad De Lima said the DOJ has yet to review the requirements so far submitted by Mrs. Arroyo's camp regarding the former President’s request to be allowed to leave the country. Mrs. Arroyo has been placed on the Immigration watch list, which requires her to secure permission from the government through an Allow Departure Order before she could go abroad. De Lima said Mrs. Arroyo’s camp earlier in the day submitted additional documents to support her foreign trip, including a medical abstract to shed light on varying reports on her medical condition. "
Titignan din ang overall circumstances. Akala ko ba base doon sa news reports walang balak umalis. Pero ngayon biglang may ganyang requests," she said. "But I'm not saying she doesn't have that right to leave and seek for medical treatment abroad. But this is a very important case. This is a matter of national interest
so dapat lahat ng factors titignan natin. Dapat balanse," added De Lima. "I have to strike a delicate balance in favor of upholding the rule of law so that
ang proseso ay hindi maging complicated para may resulta ang proceedings on one hand and at the same time upholding and respecting an individual's rights," De Lima said. Arroyo earlier underwent several operations to relieve the pain she experiences from a pinch nerve. Doctors at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City have earlier said the former President was responding well to treatment, but said she still needs to take medications for her bone mineral disorder.
— KBK/VS, GMA News 
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