DFA says it can’t cancel Bolante’s passport without court order

The Department of Foreign Affairs cannot cancel the passport of former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante without a court order or conviction by the court for a criminal offense, DFA spokesman Gilberto Asuque said yesterday.

Despite the arrest order issued by the Senate for Bolante on Tuesday, Asuque said the DFA has no basis to revoke his passport.

"We understand the spirit and intent of (the Senate) and we will study it in accordance with the law on the matter," Asuque said, quoting Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.

On Thursday afternoon, the DFA received the request of the Senate committee on agriculture, chaired by Sen. Ramon Magsaysay, to cancel Bolante’s passport after the Senate ordered his arrest for failure to attend a hearing on the P3-billion fertilizer scam for the third time.

The fertilizer fund was allegedly used to bankroll the candidacy of President Arroyo in last year’s elections.

Reports said that Bolante left last Sunday on Cathay Pacific Airlines Flight CX902, supposedly with the United States as final destination.

The DFA said a passport is the recognition of a person’s right to travel under the Constitution.

Under Republic Act No. 8239 or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996, a passport may be canceled when the holder is a fugitive from justice or when the holder has been convicted of a criminal offense. It may also be canceled upon the holder’s conviction for a criminal offense.

The DFA was faced with a similar situation in July after former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano allegedly fled the country after he was named in the alleged wiretapped conversation with Mrs. Arroyo.

A DFA official, who asked not to be named, said the DFA can only cancel Garcillano’s passport if Malacañang and the Department of Justice would not object to the cancellation of his travel document.

The official said Garcillano, who reportedly fled the country through the backdoor, is said to be a holder of official and regular passports.

"The DFA can always do that but if Malacañang is against it (the cancellation of his passport), we can’t," the official said.

Reports said Garcillano had flown out of the Philippines for Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia last month and was escorted by Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane.

He reportedly fled to Malaysia en route to the United States on a private plane to evade congressional investigation.

If his passport was canceled at that time, Garcillano would have been automatically declared an undocumented national without a passport and could be deported to the Philippines.

If Bolante’s passport is canceled by the DFA, Bolante will also be deported to the Philippines. — Pia Lee-Brago