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Arroyo couple, Abalos placed on watch list


The Department of Justice on Thursday placed under government watch list more than 40 people accused of electoral sabotage in the 2007 elections, including former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo. Based on the 10-page watch list order (WLO) issued by DOJ Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III, the 40 names were taken from the list of the joint panel probing the supposed 2007 poll fraud in North Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Maguindanao. Paras said immigration officials in Manila "are hereby ordered to include on the Bureau of Immigration watch list the names of the above-named persons." He said the order would be valid for two months or 60 days from today (October 27) "unless sooner terminated or otherwise extended." Two watch list orders were issued at the same time: one including the names of respondents in an electoral sabotage case against former Comelec chairman Abalos and 35 others for supposed poll fraud in North Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Maguindanao. A second watch list order, which basically places the same individuals named on the first – plus five other names – pertained to an electoral complaint filed by Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III. Apart from the Arroyo couple and Abalos, other individuals also named in the order were:

  • former Maguidnanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr,
  • former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra,
  • former Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer,
  • former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol,
  • former Maguindanao administrator Norie Unas, and
  • Col. Reuben Basiao, formerly of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Ampatuan is currently detained inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on multiple charges of murder in connection with the November 23, 2009 killings of 57 people in Barangay Salman in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao. Also included on the watch list were several election officers and assistants who participated in the conduct of the respective elections in the three Mindanao provinces. Arroyo is being probed "for giving direct instructions to manipulate the results of the senatorial elections in Maguindanao by ordering Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr to implement a 12-0 result in the Province of Maguindanao in favor of the Team Unity Senatorial candidates, and alter or change the results if necessary." Andal Sr, meanwhile, was included in the investigation for "conniving" with Mrs. Arroyo and giving direct orders "to implement at all cost in his province [Arroyo's] 12-0 instruction in favor of the Team Unity Senatorial candidates." Agra was likewise recommended for preliminary investigation "for covering up the manipulation of the election results in South and North Cotabato." Allow departure order Mrs. Arroyo is still subject of an earlier watch list order in connection with three plunder charges filed against her before the DOJ. The order expires on November 5. With a new watch list order, the former president's name will remain on the immigration watch list until December 27, unless terminated earlier or extended further. Mrs. Arroyo, who is being treated for her pinched nerve and is suffering from hypoparathyroidism and bone mineral disorder, has already been allowed by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr to seek treatment abroad. The former president's camp, however, is still applying for an "Allow Departure Order" from the DOJ. A subject of a watch list order must first seek the government's clearance before leaving the country. On the other hand, an individual with a hold departure order issued against him or her is automatically barred from leaving the country. Mr. Arroyo watch list order Mr. Arroyo was placed on the immigration watch list after he was implicated in the supposed sale of second-hand helicopters passed off as new ones to the Philippine National Police (PNP). The former First Gentleman questioned the order before the Supreme Court which initially issued a temporary restraining order but ultimately dismissed his petition. The petition was dismissed because it became "moot" after his name was stricken off the immigration list in early September. On Thursday, Mr. Arroyo's lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, branded the latest WLO as "cruel and inhumane." Topacio said President Benigno Aquino III should accord the Arroyo couple the same freedom to travel abroad given to his [Aquino's] father when the latter sought treatment in the US when he was still alive. "President Aquino must be reminded that even during Martial Law, [at] the height of the Marcos rule [that] the Aquinos and their allies have consistently denounced and even at present continue to demonize, the Aquino family was allowed to leave to join Sen. Benign Aquino Jr. for medical attention in the United States," Topacio said. Moreover, he said Mr. Arroyo should not be deprived of his right to stand beside his wife "in sickness and in health." "This latest harassment move against the Arroyos, in the face of the admitted lack of evidence against the former First Gentleman, goes against the very essence of Christian charity, an affront to the Constitution, and shows the darkest side of the Aquino kakistocracy [government by the most unprincipled citizens]," the lawyer said. — LBG, GMA News
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