THE Seventh Division of the Sandiganbayan on Friday lifted the “hold departure order” it issued in 2011 against former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, saying that “(t)he Court is aware of the Resolution by the Supreme Court in G.R. No. 210488 … dated December 1, 2021 wherein the Supreme Court ordered the Sandigabayan to drop Jose Miguel Arroyo from the Information in SB-12-CRM-0164 pending before this Division.”
The case of Arroyo stemmed from the alleged anomalous purchase by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in 2007 of three helicopters, which was purportedly passed off as brand new when they were already used. After a Senate investigation in 2010 where a witness pointed to Arroyo as the owner of the choppers, he was indicted for graft together with then PNP chief Jesus Versoza and seventeen other police officers and personnel. Through his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, Arroyo questioned his indictment before the Supreme Court, which ruled late last year that there was no evidence linking Arroyo to the helicopters aside from the uncorroborated statement of a witness who was offered immunity from suit.
In its June 1, 2022 order lifting the hold-departure orders against Arroyo, the anti-graft court also granted Arroyo’s motion to travel to Singapore for medical treatment. It said that the lifting of the travel ban against Arroyo was “to obviate further motions of such nature”. (Baby Cuevas)
