Former justice secretary Devanadera seeks permission to go abroad

MANILA, Philippines—Former Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, who is standing trial for graft and malversation, has asked the Sandiganbayan to allow her to leave the country to accompany her daughter who is to undergo training in cyber-crime detection and control in India.

In her motion for authority to travel, Devanadera told the antigraft court’s Fifth Division that she was planning to fly to Noida, India, next week with her daughter, Anna Noreen Devanadera, an associate prosecution attorney in the Department of Justice.

Former Justice Sceretary Agnes Devanadera. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Devanadera, one of the staunchest political allies of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was charged with four counts of graft and four counts of malversation of public funds by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2011.

The cases stemmed from her alleged grant of allowances to herself and members her staff when she was still the chief of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel in 2007.

The ex-justice secretary said her daughter was granted a scholarship to attend the “Specialized Program on Reducing Cyber-crime though Knowledge Exchange and Capacity-building” at the Center for Development of Advanced Computing in India from Oct. 27 to Dec. 19.

She said she would leave the country for New Delhi on Oct. 25 and would return to Manila six days later.

“The requested travel of accused Devanadera, if allowed by this Honorable Court, will not result in any damage or prejudice to any party as shown by the fact when (she) was arraigned last year,” Devanadera’s four-page motion said.

In fact, she pointed out, the court had already allowed her to fly out of the country previously and she returned and reported back to the court as scheduled.

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