Mike Arroyo, 7 others taken off Immigration watch list

(Updated 1:34 p.m.) The Department of Justice on Tuesday removed the names of former First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo and several others from the Immigration watch list. In a one-page order, the DOJ removed Mr. Arroyo from the watch list because the joint panel that investigated the alleged poll fraud in the 2007 mid-term polls found no sufficient evidence to charge him in court. The others whose names were stricken off the list were former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra, former presidential adviser Gabby Claudio, Bong Serrano, Andrei Tagum, Romy Dayday, Jeremy Javier and one alias "Butch." "On the basis of the dismissal of the aforementioned cases by the Comelec against them... the legal basis for their continued inclusion in the WLO ceased to exist," the DOJ said. "Accordingly, their names are hereby ordered deleted from the Bureau of Immigration Watch List unless they are the subject of a WLO or Hold Departure Order in any other case/s," the DOJ added." Watch list order The Supreme Court on November 15 temporarily stopped the implementation of the watch list orders the Arroyo couple, who were restricted from traveling abroad due to electoral sabotage complaints filed against them. SC spokesman and court administrator Jose Midas Marquez said the magistrates issued the TRO under three conditions:

the Arroyo couple will have to pay combined cash bond of P2 million;

the Arroyo couple will also have to appoint a legal representative who should receive all legal documents

the Arroyo should either call or report in person to a Philippine consulate to inform the government of their arrival in a certain country. Marquez said the TRO is "immediately executory." "Upon filing these conditions or once they are able to comply with these conditions, they can fly already," he said. Barred from flying However, despite the TRO on the watch list orders, the Arroyo couple were unable to fly last week to Singapore where former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. was supposed to seek medical treatment for her bone problem. On Friday last week, the Arroyos again failed to fly out of the country after an arrest warrant was issued against Mrs. Arroyo for electoral fraud. The charge carries a life sentence and is a non-bailable offense. Mrs. Arroyo was arrested at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Taguig, Metro Manila, where she has been repeatedly confined for various ailments. The arrest warrant was issued hours after the Commission on Elections filed the electoral fraud case before the Pasay City Regional Trial Court. The Arroyo couple and some 40 others were earlier subjected under a preliminary investigation by a joint panel from the DOJ and the Comelec for supposed electoral sabotage in Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and South Cotabato in the 2007 mid-term elections. The panel ended up recommending poll sabotage charges against Arroyo, former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., and former Maguindanao poll supervisor Lintang Bedol. The charges were filed with the Pasay court, which in turn issued an arrest warrant to Mrs. Arroyo, Ampatuan, and Bedol. Bedol is currently detained at the PNP Custodial Center at Camp Crame, while Ampatuan is locked up at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. The Supreme Court is set to hold arguments Tuesday on the respective petitions of Mr. Arroyo and former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos questioning the legality of the joint DOJ-Comelec panel. The Arroyo couple also separately questioned the legality of both the WLOs against them, as well as Department Circular No. 41, upon which the orders were based. The court later issued a temporary restraining order that allowed Mrs. Arroyo to go abroad to seek medical treatment for her bone mineral disorder. The government however refused to honor the TRO saying they should have been allowed first to file a motion for reconsideration. The court order ultimately ended up being null and void after the Comelec filed electoral sabotage charges against Arroyo and two others before a Paqsay court, which now has jurisdiction over all electoral sabotage complaints against the three individuals. — RSJ/VVP/KBK, GMA News