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Friday, September 23, 2005
Ex-general, wife refused entry in US, return to RP
MANILA -- Retired General Raymundo Jarque and wife Ma. Zenia will be escorted back to the Philippines after they were temporarily detained and denied entry by US immigration officials in Texas, USA.
The Jarques were detained last September 20 upon their arrival at the Dallas International Airport via Korean Airlines flight from Manila.
They are escorted back by Consul General to Los Angeles Marciano Paynor Jr. and are scheduled to arrive in Manila at 10:50 p.m. Friday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) aboard Korean Air Flight 621. They will have a brief stopover in Los Angeles before proceeding to Manila.
"General Jarque and his wife were detained and denied entry to the US due to (his) inclusion in the US terrorist watch list because of his prior affiliation with the National Democratic Front (NDF)," Paynor said in a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
The couple went to the US to visit their daughter Melissa Cunanan, who lives in Irving, Texas.
Paynor said he was able to speak with Jarque on the evening of September 20 over his request for assistance with the consulate and the Philippine embassy in Washington DC.
According to Paynor, the consulate coordinated with lawyer Arlene Macchetta of Houston for possible legal assistance or advice, which Cunanan may avail of in case she wanted to secure the release of her parents.
However, the Jarque spouses had decided to sign papers for their immediate return to the Philippines and that they are no longer interested in challenging the decision of the US immigration authorities in Dallas.
They were immediately transferred to another facility in preparation for their return to the Philippines as Dallas immigration has no detention facility within the airport premises. (ECV/Sunnex)
(September 23, 2005 issue)
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