DOJ: No decision on Arroyo travel request before Undas

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will have to spend All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day in the Philippines as her request to seek medical treatment abroad will not be decided on by the Department of Justice until next week. On Friday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told reporters that she was taking every step to ensure she would be making a "balanced" judgment on whether to grant or reject Mrs. Arroyo's request. To make her decision-making easier, De Lima said she has enlisted the help of Health Secretary Enrique Ona in evaluating a medical abstract earlier submitted by Mrs. Arroyo to the DOJ to justify her request to seek medical treatment for her condition. "I... sought the help of Sec. Ona for him to evaluate the medical abstract... Wala naman tayong expertise dito sa pag-evaluate ng ganitong medical abstract because this is couched in technical and medical terms so I deemed it appropriate na magpatulong kay Sec Ona," De Lima said. As of posting time, De Lima said she has yet to receive any feedback from Ona. "I think alas-tres na at wala pa akong naririnig kay Sec. Ona so I don't think you can expect anything within the day," De Lima said. At the soonest, De Lima said she might finally decide on Mrs. Arroyo's request when regular work resumes on November 2. "Ayoko naman magpalabas ng kahit anong order ng nakabakasyon tayo," she added. Unfair? De Lima said allies of the former president should not accuse the Aquino administration of being too stringent on Mrs. Arroyo, who now represents the second district of Pampanga in the House of Representatives. "Kaya ko to ginagawa kasi I'm just exercising due diligence and extra caution and prudence that before i make the decision, I have the benefit of all these facts and insights para di po tayo magkamali," she said. She said it was also "unfair" for her to be described by some Arroyo allies as "un-Christian" just because she did not immediately decide on the former president's request to get an Allow Departure Order (ADO). Mrs. Arroyo has to secure an ADO from the government because she is the subject of several watch list orders in connection with pending plunder and electoral sabotage complaints filed at the DOJ. De Lima said she cannot do anything if Mrs. Arroyo has already booked her trip abroad before the long weekend. "Siguro [kaya] mino-move na lang nila [ang schedule] dahil wala pang desisyon," she said. "Ang primary consideration kasi sa exceptional reasons ay yung actual medical condition ng dating pangulo... is there a compelling necessity for her to seek medical treatment abroad at this time?" she said, adding: "Kaya kailangan ko ng tulong diyan para tama ang aking desisyon." — LBG/RSJ, GMA News