MANILA — Senator Jinggoy Estrada and four co-respondents facing a plunder complaint will need court approval before they can travel abroad, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Tuesday.
BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval explained the implications of a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 52 on Feb. 10. The order bars
Estrada and the other respondents from leaving the country without judicial authorization.
“The person subject of the PHDO will not be allowed to leave the country without the approval of the court that issued the order,” Sandoval said in an interview on PTV’s Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.
“With the precautionary hold departure order po kasi sinasabi hindi muna maaaring umalis ng bansa ‘yung subject dahil may kaso s’ya na kinakaharap (The precautionary hold departure order states that persons are not allowed to leave the country due to cases they are still facing),” she added.
Sandoval noted, however, that courts may grant permission in special circumstances.
“On emergency cases or important and urgent matters to attend to abroad,” she said, referring to instances where courts have allowed temporary travel despite a PHDO.
She explained that a PHDO is issued when a judge determines that a person poses a flight risk or may attempt to evade prosecution.
The Manila RTC granted a petition filed by prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking the issuance of the PHDO against Estrada and four others: former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan, former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, DPWH regional director Gerard Opulencia, and former DPWH Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara.
The five have been charged with plunder before the DOJ by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in connection with alleged irregularities involving flood control projects. The case is currently undergoing preliminary investigation by a panel of prosecutors.
Of the respondents, Bonoan has publicly expressed his intention to travel to the United States for his wife’s scheduled medical procedure this month.
Sandoval said that if Bonoan seeks court approval to leave and the court denies the request, immigration authorities will enforce the order.
“If Bonoan asks the court permission to travel abroad and the court bars him from leaving the country, the BI will not allow him to depart,” she said.