(UPDATED) Grammy Award winning singer Christopher Maurice Brown or “Chris Brown” may leave the country but he would have to face estafa charges filed by the Iglesia ni Cristo, following the Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) issued by the Department of Justice on Wednesday.
The Iglesia ni Cristo filed the complaint for violation of Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code for Estafa on July 21, Tuesday, the same day it sent a letter of request to the DOJ for a lookout order on Brown.
READ: Chris Brown prevented from leaving PH
Aside from Chris Brown, included in the complaint for estafa is John Michael Pio Roda, the talent agent who was engaged by Maligaya Development Corporation (MDC) to help them bring Brown into the Philippines to perform on Dec. 31, 2014, at the Philippine Arena for its New Year countdown.
READ: Chris Brown pulls out of New Year countdown at PH Arena
MDC is the overall administration and management of Ciudad de Victoria (CDV), where Iglesia ni Cristo’s Philippine Arena is located.
“This is to respectfully request for assistance from your good office, for the successful prosecution of the criminal complaint which MDC is lodging against Mr. John Michael Pio Roda and Mr. Christopher Maurice Brown aka Chris Brown for the crime of Estafa,” Atty. Glicerio Santos IV, Chief Operating Officer and head legal counsel of INC said in its letter.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima issued the ILBO. A copy of the ILBO was received by the Bureau of Immigration Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, Immigration Spokesperson Elaine Tan explained that the ILBO is not a hold departure order.
“As the name suggests, the order merely directs the BI to be on the ‘lookout’ and take prudent steps to verify on the status of the criminal case against the subjects. If the concerned agency raises no objection to the departure, then we will allow the subject to leave,” said Tan.
For foreign nationals, the ILB requires subjects to obtain the Emigration Clearance Certificate (ECC), pursuant to Section 22-A of the Philippine Immigration Act, to ensure that the foreign national has no pending obligations in the Philippines.
Brown, according to Tan, will be allowed to depart provided he satisfies the ECC requirement. TVJ
(Originally published at 5:28, July 22, 2015)