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Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Foreign office taps embassies to locate Garci
MANILA -- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday that it acts on any request of Congress and the appeal to find former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Virgilio Garcillano is no different.
The foreign affairs office issued the statement after Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. accused the agency of "making use of unconvincing excuses as justification in not finding Garcillano."
In a statement, the DFA said it cooperates with members of the Senate or the House of Representatives in determining the whereabouts of the former election commissioner.
The DFA said it has instructed the Philippine embassies in Singapore and the United Kingdom to inquire with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the areas if they have information on the location of Garcillano.
The agency is conveying the information, taking into account the internal processes of the concerned government agencies in Singapore and the United Kingdom.
As to the issue of whether Garcillano is a "fugitive from justice", the DFA has released a copy of an opinion by the Department of Justice (DOJ) which states that, based on two Supreme Court (SC) decisions, a "fugitive from justice" is "not only those who flee after conviction to avoid punishment but likewise those who, after being charged, flee to avoid prosecution."
The department said the DFA or the DOJ is not the proper office to determine whether Garcilliano is a fugitive from justice but it is the court, and if the court declares the former elections official as a fugitive, his passport would be immediately canceled.
Pimentel earlier said the DFA should cancel Garcillano's passport if the agency wants to resolve the problem.
Through the cancellation of the passport, he said Garcillano would be declared an illegal alien in the country where he is staying and he would be sent back to the Philippines.
The senator revealed he has information that the former Comelec official proceeded to the US from London and is now staying in the house of his daughter in New Jersey. Since the Philippines has a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the US, he said the former elections official can be extradited to the country.
Pimentel believes that authorities of the DFA and the immigration bureau aided Garcillano in leaving the country.
Immigration Associate Commissioner Teodoro Delarmente, in response, denied reports that he facilitated the departure of Garcillano from the country.
Delarmente said he is ready to face any investigation to prove his innocence. He said he is being linked to the flight of the former election official because of his connection to former national Police chief and now Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., who was accused of coddling Garcillano.
He said Garcillano might have left the country by passing through the country's backdoor using a fake passport and a different identity. (JFF/Sunnex)
(August 23, 2005 issue)
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