Arroyo couple stopped from leaving Philippines

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
MANILA — The government blocked former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband from leaving the country Tuesday despite a Supreme Court (SC) order that allowed the couple to travel.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima said they will appeal the SC decision, adding the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the High Court Tuesday cannot be implemented once a motion for reconsideration has been filed.
Arroyo is expected to see her doctors abroad after suffering from hypoparathyroidism and bone mineral disorder.
Accompanied by her husband Juan Miguel and son Ang Galing party-list Representative Mikey Arroyo, the former President arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 in an ambulance and was wheeled into a departure hall wearing a facemask and a neck brace around 8:20 p.m.
The Arroyo reportedly booked at least five different flights to Singapore, said DOJ Secretary de Lima.
The first two flights were scheduled at 4 p.m. via Philippine Airlines (PAL) and 5 p.m. via Singapore Airlines, but these flights were cancelled because the former First Couple did not appear.
Three other bookings were supposedly made via PAL and Singapore Airlines scheduled at 7:35 p.m., 7:55 p.m., and 9 p.m., respectively.
The Arroyos were ushered into a VIP lounge while their lawyers, armed with the SC decision, tried to persuade immigration officials to allow them to board a Dragon Air flight bound for Hong Kong.
Arroyo’s spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn said in a television interview late Tuesday that they booked for a flight bound for Hong Kong instead, since they missed the flights that were bound for Singapore. She clarified, though, that Arroyo’s destination was Singapore.
She said they planned to go to Spain after Singapore to meet Arroyo’s bone mineral disorder specialist.
After about two hours at the NAIA, however, Arroyo’s lawyer Raul Lambino said the immigration officials, upon the instructions of de Lima, had prevented the couple from leaving.
“They weren’t able to board the airplane,” Lambino said, accusing the government of inflicting “inhumane, cruel punishment” on his client.
Arroyo and her husband later left the airport in the ambulance and headed to St. Luke’s Medical Hospital in Taguig City where Arroyo was to be checked for stress, said an ally, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman.
“They are very mean. They are very cruel,” husband Jose Miguel Arroyo said of the government. “I feel sad. I feel mad. How can they refuse to follow the Supreme Court order? That is tyranny.”
The Arroyo camp vowed to file charges against de Lima and the immigration officials who prevented the former First Couple from leaving the country.
But presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the former First Couple, being investigated for alleged corruption and electoral cheating, would be treated with dignity but “we will be firm in our decision not to allow them to leave the country.”
“This is all high drama. They want the public to sympathize with them,” he said.
De Lima also maintained in a television interview that she ordered the Bureau of Immigration to direct the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the NAIA “to exhaust all actions to implement the watch list orders.”
She maintained that she is not violating any law, and that she takes full responsibility for the order.
De Lima stressed that the watch list orders will stay until the government receives a copy of the SC decision. She also said the order could still not be implemented until the High Court decides on the appeal that the Office of the Solicitor General will file upon receipt of the ruling.
But SC spokesperson Midas Marquez begged to disagree as he warned Tuesday those who will actually defy the order that they may face contempt charges.
“I hope they will realize that this was issued after a full court deliberation, there were concurring votes, and there were dissenting votes. It has to be respected and accepted, that’s the rule of law. But let’s see. I don’t think there’s no actual defiance yet,” he told reporters.
“They are free to exercise their constitutional rights,” Marquez added.
De Lima clarified that the Arroyos will not be arrested when spotted in the airport but only be barred from leaving.
She also insisted that there is “no life and death situation” in Arroyo’s medical condition.
The 64-year-old former President is facing a string of plunder and electoral sabotage cases as she asked the court to allow her to travel after suffering from hypoparathyroidism and bone mineral disorder.
Arroyo’s husband also benefitted from the injunction order after the court consolidated the separate petitions filed last week by the lawyers of the ex-First Couple, said Marquez.
The SC spokesperson also said the court voted 8-5 in favor of Arroyo’s request but she can only leave the country after fulfilling some requirements.
These include the payment of P2-million bail bond, appointment of legal representatives who can receive legal documents such as subpoena, orders, and other legal processes while the Arroyos are out of the country.
Both these requisites were fulfilled by the former First Gentleman’s legal representative Ferdinand Topacio, who paid the cash bond to Araceli Layuga, SC collection and disbursement officer, around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Upon arrival at their chosen destination, the SC said the Arroyo couple should also inform the Philippine Embassy or consulate about their whereabouts “at all times” either by personal appearance or by phone.
Topacio said Arroyo will immediately see her doctors in Singapore after failing to show up three times.
“She really needs to have a medical check-up. I think she has an appointment tomorrow (Wednesday),” he said, adding the former presidential couple had no plans of evading prosecution.
The DOJ was asked to give comment in three days as the court scheduled an oral argument on the watch list orders against the Arroyo couple on November 22 at 2 p.m.
Arroyo, now a Pampanga lawmaker, already secured a travel authority from the House Secretary General to leave the country from October 22 to December 5.
Arroyo’s request indicated travel to the United States of America, Germany, Singapore, Spain, and Italy. But in her final itinerary submitted to the DOJ, Arroyo dropped the US and Italy from the list. (Virgil Lopez/Jill Beltran/Jonathan de Santos/Kathrina Alvarez/AP/Sunnex)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/11/16/arroyo-couple-stopped-leaving-philippines-190830

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