De Lima defends passport cancellation request for 3 senators, 34 others

DOJ Sec. Leila de Lima INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima defended the Department of Justice’s move to seek the cancellation of passports of 37 individuals, including three senators.

“There is nothing under the law which requires that a case should be with the courts or the Office of the Ombudsman before seeking for the cancellation of passports,” De Lima said Friday.

“Under our laws, the Department of Foreign Affairs has the authority to issue, withdraw, revoke or cancel passports…and anybody can ask for the cancellation of passports of anyone for as long as it is based on the proper grounds stated under the law,” she added.

The DoJ sought the cancellation of passports of 37 individuals involved in the pork barrel fund scam, including Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

Revilla’s lawyer Joel Bodegon questioned the DoJ’s move, citing a lack of authority.

But De Lima pointed said there is also nothing under the law requiring that there should be a finding of probable cause before seeking the cancellation of passports.

She said that with the amount of money involved in the scam, the issue could be linked to national security.

“The results of our research showed that this [pork barrel scam] can be linked to national security because this is large scale corruption,” she added.

Aside from national security, other grounds for refusing to issue or revoke a passport are public safety and public health.

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