De Lima orders officials to bar Arroyos from leaving the country

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday ordered Immigration and airport authorities to bar former President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo and her husband, Jose Miguel, from leaving the country until the petition they have filed against the watch list order against them has been resolved by the Justice Department. At a Malacañang briefing, De Lima told the media the DOJ (Department of Justice) has yet to receive an official notice of the temporary restraining order supposedly issued by the Supreme Court earlier in the day. De Lima said Government’s position on the matter is that upon filing of the motion for reconsideration for lifting the TRO, the order stays in place until the issue has been resolved. “The reported TRO has not been substantiated to exist pending the receipt by the respondents through the Office of the Solicitor General. Hence, the status quo, which is the existence of the watch list order against the Arroyos remains," she said. With this, she ordered the Bureau of Immigration and requested the Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel Roxas II to direct the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) management and personnel to enforce the watch list order, which bars the Arroyo couple from leaving the country. All law enforcement officers are also directed to assist the authorities in carrying out the order, noted the Justice chief. “They are also directed to report any attempt by the Arroyo couple and their entourage to board any international, commercial, or chartered flights to whatever destination outside of the Philippines," she said. De Lima said they needed to do this amid the Arroyos’ plan to go to Singapore. “The Arroyos had in fact made bookings today beginning with 4 pm, PR 501, and 5 pm flight SQ 919. The bookings were cancelled because they did not appear. It was followed by three other bookings for today at 7:35 pm via PR 505, 7:55 via SQ 921 and last booking is 9 o’clock possibly through Dragon Air," she said. — VS, GMA News