De Lima to pursue probe of GMA asylum bid

MANILA, Philippines - Apparently unfazed by the denial from the government of Dominican Republic, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday said she would still look into a report that former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was seeking asylum in the Caribbean nation.

De Lima said she is specifically puzzled by the recent visit of the Dominican Republic’s Ambassador to Asian countries Frank Hans Dannenberg Castellanos to Manila.

“I’ll ask the advice of the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) on the purpose of the short visit. What I know is that ambassadors who visit a country – either for an official or personal visit – should inform the DFA. So I’d like to know what the purpose of the visit was,” she told reporters in an ambush interview yesterday.

The Justice chief believes that the reported denial from Carlos Morales Troncoso, the foreign minister of Dominican Republic, did not make the information a mere rumor.

“We cannot just dismiss that information just like that – especially since it was confirmed that Ambassador Castellanos arrived recently,” she said.

De Lima said she would verify reports that the ambassador had visited Arroyo in her house in La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City during his visit.

She earlier confirmed from records of the Bureau of Immigration that Castellanos arrived in the country via Tiger Airways at 11:56 a.m. last Oct. 25 and left on Oct. 28 at 11:18 a.m.

It was earlier confirmed that Mrs. Arroyo visited the Dominican Republic last May when she was conferred the award of the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella from President Leonel Fernandez.

The award was meant to recognize Mrs. Arroyo’s efforts in strengthening “the bonds of friendship between the Philippines and Latin America, besides being the initiator of the creation of FEALAC entity formed to strengthen relations between the countries of ASEAN.”

She went there last May 3 and returned three days later. At that time, then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez had resigned from her post.

Apart from the Dominican Republic, De Lima said they are also looking into the alleged plan of the Arroyos to seek asylum in two other countries she refused to reveal but were said to be Spain and Portugal.

The purported plan of Arroyo to seek asylum abroad was one of the bases why the Department of Justice (DOJ) has denied her bid to leave the country to seek treatment abroad for a rare disease in her cervical spine amid plunder and poll fraud charges against her.

Arroyo has already sought relief from the Supreme Court (SC) and asked for a temporary restraining order against the DOJ’s watchlist order against her.

Yesterday, her lawyer former solicitor general Estelito Mendoza filed a supplemental petition to reinforce her petition by citing the decision of De Lima last Nov. 8 to deny Arroyo’s application for an allow departure order.

She said De Lima’s decision clearly demonstrated the violation of her right.

In her petitions filed last week, Arroyo invoked her constitutional rights to travel and asked the high tribunal, where 12 of the 15 current magistrates were appointed by her, to declare as unconstitutional Department Circular No. 41 which gives the DOJ the power to issue WLOs and hold departure orders (HDOs) to respondents in criminal cases.

She alleged that the DOJ order violated Sections 1 and 6, Article III of the Constitution which explicitly provide that the right to travel of a person shall not be impaired except “in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health, as may provided by law.”

The Office of the Solicitor General immediately answered the petition and asked the high court not to issue a TRO that would allow Arroyo to leave and could make the case moot.

The SC is expected to tackle in full-court session today Arroyo’s petition, which was assigned to an appointee of President Aquino to the high court, Justice Bienvenido Reyes.

Proof first

Senator Panfilo Lacson said yesterday De Lima should learn her lesson and tone down her eagerness to get media mileage, particularly on allegations which she cannot back up with proof.

While he said that De Lima was right to verify the reports about the alleged plan of Arroyo to seek asylum in the Dominican Republic, she should have refrained from announcing this to the public until this was verified.

However, Lacson said that the camp of Arroyo is in no position to demand an apology from De Lima, much less her resignation, for peddling lies about Arroyo’s planned asylum bid.

He said that the Arroyo administration peddled lies for nine straight years and made a fool out of many people during that time.

But Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said an apology to the Arroyos may be warranted because they were the aggrieved party.

Sotto said that the best way to deal with De Lima would not be to call for her resignation but to have her defend herself before the Commission on Appointments (CA).

De Lima has yet to appear before the CA for her confirmation hearing but according to Sotto, he expects that a lot of issues would be raised before her during that hearing.

‘Their own creation’

Meanwhile, President Aquino said Mrs. Arroyo has only herself to blame in reaction to complaints that his refusal to allow her to seek medical treatment abroad was a curtailment of her constitutional right to travel.

In a sit-down interview with Manila-based reporters at the Hilton Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii late Sunday, President Aquino made it clear that he was just implementing the DOJ circular that the previous administration issued.

Aquino was referring to DOJ Circular 41 that former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra issued in May 25, 2010, more than two weeks after Aquino won the presidential elections but had not assumed office yet.

Under the Agra circular – which De Lima has adopted – the HDO the DOJ has issued “shall be valid for five years unless sooner terminated” while watchlist orders have a lifespan of 60 days.

Meanwhile, Vice President Jejomar Binay yesterday reiterated his support for the government’s plan not to allow Mrs. Arroyo to seek medical treatment abroad.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, however, has a different view, saying the DOJ should be more concerned about protecting the life of Arroyo than her supposed plans to evade the possible cases against her. – With Delon Porcalla, Sandy Araneta, Jose Rodel Clapano, Edith Regalado, Marvin Sy