THE tables have been turned against Sen. Leila de Lima, who used Lookout Bulletin Orders (LBO) to bar political figures, including former president Gloria Arroyo, from leaving the country when she was Justice secretary.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a lookout bulletin against De Lima to ensure that she will not evade prosecution after being linked to the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.
The LBO issued last Friday also covered the senator’s former driver and alleged lover Ronnie Dayan, former Justice undersecretary Francisco Baraan 3rd, former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director Franklin Jesus Bucayu, Presidential Security Group (PSG) member Joenel Sanchez and former Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission executive Director Reginald Villasanta.
The LBO was issued by the Justice department at the request of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The LBO mandated all immigration officers to inform the DOJ and NBI of any attempt by the subjects to leave the country by forwarding details of their flight, itineraries and whereabouts.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd said the LBO was issued “considering that they (de Lima and others) may attempt to place themselves beyond the reach of the legal processes.”
As a general rule, the Bureau of Immigration has no power to stop the travel of a person unless a court, upon finding probable cause to set a case for trial, orders it to do so.
However, the LBO will serve as a deterrent against de Lima or any government official or employee from leaving the country especially if they fail to show a travel authority from their heads of offices.
Last week, Baraan was reported as having left for the United States, supposedly to seek medical treatment.
Dayan, the alleged “bagman” of de Lima, cannot be found, said Aguirre.