Arroyo asks SC to stop DOJ from preventing her travel

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to stop the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Bureau of Immigration from preventing her from seeking medical treatment abroad for her bone mineral disorder. In a 12-page urgent motion filed by her lawyer Estelito Mendoza, Mrs. Arroyo asked the high court to order respondents Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Immigration chief Ricardo David Jr. to let her leave the country. The motion was filed after Immigration officials barred Mrs. Arroyo and her husband, Jose Miguel, from boarding a plane — reportedly bound for Hong Kong — Tuesday night even after the Supreme Court ordered the Justice Department and the Immigration Bureau to temporarily stop the enforcement of a watch list order. The watch list order requires the Arroyos to ask for government permission before traveling abroad. "Petitioner GMA [Arroyo's initials] respectfully prays that this Honorable Court immediately implement the Temporary Restraining Order, dated 15 November 2011 issued in the above-captioned case and order the respondents, their agents, representatives and persons acting in their stead to immediately cease and desist from preventing petitioner GMA from leaving the country," part of the motion read.

The Arroyos were put on the immigration watch list following the filing of electoral sabotage complaints against them in connection with alleged cheating in the 2007 elections. Mrs. Arroyo, now a congresswoman representing the second district of Pampanga, is also facing plunder complaints. By preventing Mrs. Arroyo from leaving the country despite the Supreme Court order, De Lima and David "are disregarding the core value of separation of powers among the co-equal branches of the government and the principle of checks and balances which guarantee our basic freedoms." In the petition, Mendoza noted that Mrs. Arroyo complied with the conditions set by the Supreme Court before she could be allowed leave the country, namely the posting of a P2-million bond, the appointment of a legal representative who is fully authorized to receive summons and legal processes on their behalf, and a promise to report to Philippine consulates of the countries where she would travel. As of posting time, Mrs. Arroyo was confined at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig City. She was supposed to fly to Singapore earlier in the day to meet an appointment with her doctor, but Mrs. Arroyo decided to postpone it because of her weak condition. Mrs. Arroyo’s spokesperson, Elena Bautista-Horn, said they are not discounting the possibility the couple would attempt to leave the country on Friday for "medical" reasons. "What is sure is that she will not attempt to leave the country today. She said she feels weak after what happened Tuesday," Horn said in an interview on dzBB radio. — KBK/VS, GMA News