DOJ seeks DOH assessment on GMA condition

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday said she is seeking the help of Health Secretary Enrique Ona in evaluating the report on the medical condition of Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo before deciding on the request of the former president to seek medical treatment overseas.

“I’m exercising due diligence and extra caution. Before deciding, I have to get all the facts and consider and weigh all factors so I won’t commit a mistake,” De Lima said.

She said any decision on the matter will not be ready until the end of the long weekend on Nov. 2 because Ona has yet to respond to her request for assistance.

To justify her request for medical treatment abroad, Arroyo earlier submitted a medical abstract on her condition prepared by St. Luke’s Medical Center where she underwent surgery on her problematic cervical spine to justify her travel request.

De Lima’s plan to wait for the evaluation of the Department of Health has further dimmed the prospect of Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo pushing through with their trip on Nov. 1.

De Lima clarified that she was not formally informed of the reported plan of the Arroyos to leave the country on Nov. 1, and blamed conflicting media reports.

De Lima admitted it would be difficult to decide on Arroyo’s request considering that the preliminary investigation into allegations of electoral sabotage against her and several others has just begun.

She said that in making a decision, she has to strike a balance between justice and humanitarian consideration for an ailing former leader.

“This is the type of decision where I will surely receive flak from sectors whichever way I decide,” she said.

To accusations that barring Arroyo from traveling is an “unchristian and inhumane act,” she replied: “What is a Christian act in the perspective of justice?”

De Lima also slammed the Arroyos for calling the Aquino administration’s treatment of the former president and her family “worse than martial law.”

“I don’t think they can accuse this government of being oppressive. Everything we do is within the bounds of law. We are doing our job in DOJ (Department of Justice) as instrument of justice in putting closure to the unresolved issues in the past administration,” she pointed out.

“This is all about justice and accountability,” she added.

De Lima also confirmed that she has received three letters from Arroyo requesting to be allowed to make the trip.

The DOJ chief said she would inform the Palace of her decision before announcing it to the public, possibly on Wednesday.

The DOJ issued another order last Thursday placing the former first couple in the immigration watchlist.

The order, in effect, extends the first watchlist order issued against Arroyo in connection with the three plunder charges she is facing. The latest order is valid for 60 days.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said it’s up to the DOJ to decide on Arroyo’s request and that it respects the opinion of Sen. Franklin Drilon that the former first gentleman should not have been included in the watchlist because there was no case against him.

“But for the moment, and this is a legal presumption that all lawyers are fully aware of, issuances unless overturned by the Supreme Court enjoy the presumption of constitutionality. So, what Secretary Leila De Lima is doing – and she has already expressed this view – is that this is an existing regulation and that this is within her powers to do so. So, unless it is overturned by the Supreme Court, she will exercise the regulations that are within her ambit,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

“It’s an existing regulation…Secretary Leila de Lima has already issued a watchlist. So, it enjoys the presumption of constitutionality,” he said.

Mind conditioning

Arroyo’s lawyer and spokesman Raul Lambino, for his part, said that by delaying its issuance of travel permission to the former president, the Aquino administration was conditioning the minds of the public that she and her family are guilty of the crimes imputed on them.

“In withholding permission, the administration is telling the public that the former President and her husband are guilty of the various charges against them and are a flight risk,” Lambino said in a telephone interview.

“But they’re (Arroyos) not going to evade anything. They’ll return as soon as the medical consultations and treatments are over,” he said.

Arroyo earlier underwent three surgeries on her cervical spine where titanium implants were affixed to support her neck bones. While doctors said she was fit to travel, her recovery remains slow due to a rare condition called hypoparathyroidism which prevents her brittle neck bones from fully healing. The former leader continues to wear a metal brace to prevent movement of her head and neck.

“This is a different story from somebody who is malingering. What we’re saying is that this is a disease that requires the intervention of medical specialists and unfortunately we don’t have one in the country,” Lambino said.

He said Arroyo’s office has already complied with all the requirements imposed by De Lima.

“Right now, we have already more than substantially complied with what they’re asking, but it seems they now have many conditions,” he said, referring to De Lima’s pronouncement that she would seek Ona’s help in evaluating the medical abstract submitted by Arroyo.

“The requirements they’re asking are endless. Once we have complied with the particular requirement, then comes another one,” Lambino said.

The House of Representatives earlier granted permission to Arroyo, a congresswoman, to seek medical treatment from Oct. 22 to Dec. 5. – With Aurea Calica, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero

* Travel ban hit

For militant lawmakers, there is no justification for barring Arroyo from traveling.

In a statement, Bayan Muna party list Representatives Teddy Casiño and Neri Colmenares said “there is technically nothing to stop her from leaving for abroad,” considering that she has not yet been charged in court.

But Casiño and Colmenares, who are Arroyo critics, said the former leader should have her treatment in the country so she would not be suspected of trying to evade prosecution.

Though her travel authority issued by the House is good for six weeks, from Oct. 22 to Dec. 5, House sources have revealed that she actually wanted an “open-ended and indefinite” authorization, prompting speculations that she was planning to stay abroad indefinitely.

“Mrs. Arroyo, through then Justice Sec. Alberto Agra, used the travel watchlist to violate the rights of militant party-list representatives to travel and now she is getting a dose of her own medicine,” the two said.

“But this is wrong because only the courts could issue a hold-departure order. The right to travel is a constitutional right, and a restriction on the right to travel in the guise of a watchlist order is unconstitutional and oppressive,” they said.

They blamed De Lima for the delay in the filing of charges against Arroyo.

“We filed with the DOJ a criminal complaint against Mrs. Arroyo in July 2010 after she lost her immunity from criminal prosecution, but nothing came out of it,” the two Bayan Muna lawmakers said.

They said up to now, various cases against the Arroyos and their allies and numerous other tax and smuggling complaints filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs are gathering dust in the DOJ.

They urged the former president to just stay in the country and trust “our very capable doctors and facilities here.”

“Her treatment abroad should be a last resort and should be based on the findings of a team of reputable independent doctors and with a guarantee of her return,” they said.