MANILA, Philippines – Several persons indicted before the Sandiganbayan for plunder and graft in connection with the pork barrel scam have left the country.
Immigration chief Siegfred Mison revealed this to reporters Thursday after his meeting with Justice Secretary Leila De Lima.
Bureau of Immigration building. Photo from Bureau of Immmigration website
Still, Mison said they are verifying the records.
He added that they also need the complete details of the accused to make sure that the persons they will put on the hold departure list are the accused and not namesakes. Details they need to know are their middle name and date of birth.
“We are coordinating with the Sandiganbayan for more details to make sure that the names we included in the hold departure order are the names in our travel data base. Kasi meron doon mga common names baka kapangalan lang. Yung iba walang record sa amin. So we really have to make sure that we are referring to the right person,” Mison said.
“Hopefully by tomorrow (Friday) we would be able to get something from the Sandiganbayan to make sure we are referring to the same person based on our database,” Mison said.
Immigration records showed that Nemesio Pablo Jr., President of the Agri and Economic Program from Farmers Foundation (AEPFF), a nongovernment organization linked to alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles, left on May 22, 2010 for Singapore.
Antonio Ortiz, former Director General of the Technology Resource Center, left for California on Sept. 6, 2013 and former Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo “Ompong” Plaza left for Hong Kong last Sept. 11, 2013. No records showed that they returned to the country.
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