Convicted governor seeks court’s nod to travel

Mindoro Oriental Gov. Alfonso Umali Jr., who was recently convicted to a maximum of 10 years in prison over a graft case, has asked the Sandiganbayan to allow him to travel to Italy from June 14 to 28 to attend to business matters.

In a three-page motion filed by his lawyers on May 19, Umali, the treasurer of the ruling Liberal Party, told the antigraft court’s Fourth Division that he would speak at an event organized by overseas Filipinos and attend the Global Forum on Remittance and Development, both in Milan.

He said the Mindoro Oriental provincial government will not pay for the expenses of his foreign travel.

“Considering that the honorable court’s decision convicting accused Umali is not final, as it is still subject to his motion for reconsideration and a possible petition… with the Supreme Court, the same cannot impair his constitutional right to be presumed innocent and to travel,” Umali’s motion read.

The governor said he had proven to the court that he was not a flight risk as he was able to return to the country after his previous trips abroad during the pendency of the case against him.

In addition, he said he had “every reason to return” to the country, being an incumbent governor and at the same time president of both the League of Provinces of the Philippines and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines.

One of President Aquino’s staunchest political allies, Umali was convicted by the court on April 20 for violating the antigraft law when he helped facilitate the anomalous P2.5-million loan to a private individual in 1994.

Umali, then the provincial administrator, was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison along with former Gov. Rodolfo Valencia and former board member Romualdo Bawasanta.