THE Supreme Court (SC) has junked a plea of former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chairman Efraim Genuino to apply for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against a hold departure order (HDO) issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and implemented by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

In a one-page Minute Resolution, dated August 23 and signed by lawyer and Clerk of Court Enriqueta Vidal, the SC en banc declined to issue the TRO in favor of the former gaming corporation chief and his children, Erwin Genuino and Sheryl See.

Instead, the 15-member tribunal ordered the Justice department, Immigration bureau and the current Pagcor leadership to file their respective comments within 10 days of receiving the notice.

“Acting on the Special Civil Action for Certiorari and Prohibition with Application for Temporary Restraining Order and/or Writ of Preliminary Injunction, the court resolved, without giving due course to the petition, to require the respondents to comment thereon within ten (10) days from notice hereof,” the resolution said.

Genuino’s experience with the High Court is entirely different from that of the husband of former President and now Rep. Gloria Arroyo of Pampanga province, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo.

In Mr. Arroyo’s case, the SC slammed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima from effecting the Watch List Order (WLO) against him.

This was after the High Court unanimously issued a TRO against the Justice department and Immigration bureau, preventing these to implement the WLO.

In a 13-0 ruling, Chief Justice Renato Corona and 12 other justices—including newly appointed SC Justice Bienvenido Reyes—ruled in issuing the TRO.

The TRO was issued to protect Mr. Arroyo’s rights—particularly the right to travel —which was guaranteed under the Bill of Rights of the 1987 Constitution.

The order was also issued to prevent any grave and irreparable injury to the constitutionally-guarranteed rights of Mrs. Arroyo’s husband.

The 15-member High Tribunal issued the TRO because there was no pending case against Mr. Arroyo, who was under investigation by the Senate blue ribbon committee for his role in the alleged overpriced sale of second-hand helicopters to the Philippine National Police in 2009.

The TRO’s issuance means that Mr. Arroyo can travel abroad without needing to seek clearance from de Lima.

In contrast, the Genuinos are facing plunder and graft charges before the Justice department.

In his 27-page petition for certiorari and prohibition, the former Pagcor chief asked the High Court to stop the Justice department from implementing the HDO issued against him and his children.

They also asked the High Tribunal to declare as null and void DOJ circular no. 041-10 for being unconstitutional because it violates the people’s right to due process.

This circular, issued on June 7, 2010, consolidated the rules and regulations governing the issuances and implemention of HDOs, WLOs, and allow departure orders.

This document, among others, allows the Justice secretary to issue HDO “against any person, either motu proprio, or upon the request by the Head of a Department of the Government; the head of a Constitutional body or commission; the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for the Judiciary; the Senate President or the House Speaker for the Legislature, when the adverse party is the Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, or in the interest of national security, public safety or public health.”

Genuino said in their petition that the circular “is an exercise of arbitrary power, enforcing its edicts to the injury of the persons and property of the citizens.”

“This cannot be considered as valid law,” he added.

According to the circular, a WLO is effective for 60 days; an HDO, 6 months.

The Genuinos and several others were included by the Immigration bureau in its hold departure order list after several complaints have been filed against them before the Justice department.

The former Pagcor chairman is facing a string of plunder cases before the DOJ.

The first tackles the allegedly illegal disbursement of about P26.7-million for the production of the 2008 film Baler.

The second deals with the allegedly anomalous release of funding assistance worth P34 million to the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association Inc. (Pasa) beginning in 2007.

The third was about the alleged misappropriation of at least P186 million in questionable transactions that benefitted the Bata Iwas Droga (Bida) foundation and other entities from 2003 to 2010.