Former President Arroyo placed on Immigration watch list

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Immigration on Tuesday evening placed former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on its watch list upon the order of Justice Secretary Leila De Lima.

Immigration Associate Commissioner Abdullah Mangotara issued the memorandum to the Airport Operations Division and Immigration Regulation Division to implement the order.

The memorandum orders all immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Aiport (NAIA) and all other ports in the country to bar Mrs. Arroyo from leaving the country without travel clearance from De Lima.

The watch list is good for 60 days from issuance unless sooner terminated or extended by the Justice secretary.

De Lima issued the order noting that there are three plunder complaints undergoing preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice (DoJ).

The first plunder complaint was filed by Danilo Lihaylihay, president of Philippine Association of Revenue Informers Inc., in connection with the 2007 sale of the 54.5 hectare old Iloilo Airport for P1.8 billion to Megaworld Corp.

Complainant said the Arroyo administration paid to the Treasury the P18-million documentary stamp tax on the sale but did not remit the P72 million capital gains tax it collected.

The other two complaints were filed by former Solicitor-General Francisco Chavez in connection with the alleged diversion of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds of over P500 million supposedly for the medical benefits of overseas Filipino workers. The other complaint is the P2.3 billion plunder case in relation to the fertilizer fund scam.

De Lima issued the order pursuant to Department Circular No. 41 dated May 25 2010 that gives the Justice secretary the power to issue motu proprio (on its own) a watch list order.