JUSTICE Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday turned down the plea of former President Gloria Arroyo to be allowed to leave the country and seek further medical treatment for her “hypoparathyroidism and metabolic bone disorder.”

De Lima maintained there was no necessity to allow Mrs. Arroyo to leave the country and that her claim of worsening health was not reflected in her medical abstract provided by physicians at Saint Luke’s Medical Center where she first sought treatment.

De Lima said the medical abstract and the statements of Mrs. Arroyo’s physicians belied her claim that she has rare metabolic bone disease.

She reiterated the report of Health Secretary Enrique Ona that the former President was recuperating well from her recent operations.

Malacañang said it supported the decision of de Lima.

“We support the statement of Secretary de Lima,” said Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda. He did not elaborate. 

De Lima noted that Mrs. Arroyo’s medical abstracts and her physicians’ direct statements to Ona revealed that an underlying metabolic bone disease could not be totally ruled out, hence, that is yet to be determined through a bone biopsy. The justice secretary also noted that Mrs. Arroyo’s physicians were still at a loss on whether the underlying nature or cause of her hypoparathyroidism was the occurrence of metabolic bone disease.

De Lima said a bone biopsy can be done in the country.

“As such, before any conclusive finding is made on applicant’s [Arroyo’s] medical condition as one of metabolic bone disease, she first has to undergo a bone biopsy, a medical process undertaken regularly in the Philippines and which, therefore, need not necessarily be availed of abroad,” she said.

“I’m not convinced of the exceptional reasons, circumstances or justification of the former President for us to grant the request,” de Lima added.

De Lima’s denial of Mrs. Arroyo’s request for the issuance of an allow-departure order (ADO) has the approval of President Aquino. De Lima denied her decision was political.

“It’s more than medical, its more than legal, maybe political or a combination of all, but in general this is about protecting the interest of the public,” she added.

HDO for Ligots

In a related development, the Bureau of Immigration on Tuesday included in its hold-departure list former Armed Forces comptroller Jacinto Ligot and his wife Erlinda who are facing a P153-million tax-evasion case before the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA).

In a two-page order, acting Associate Immigration Commissioner Abdullah Mangotara said the Ligots’ inclusion in the hold-departure list was in accordance with a resolution issued by the CTA’s Second Division.

Apart from tax-evasion charges, the Ligot couple and their children Paulo, Riza and Miguel are also facing a P135-million forfeiture case at the Sandiganbayan.

In addition, Ligot is facing plunder charges at the DOJ.

(With S. Fabunan)