Sandiganbayan bans Jinggoy from leaving country

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan issued a hold departure order preventing the flight of plunder respondent Sen. Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada and 13 other alleged cohorts in the "pork barrel" scam.

Associate Justice Roland Jurado, chair of anti-graft court's Fifth Division, issued the order Monday afternoon ahead of the arrest warrant against the respondent lawmakers.

Covered by the order are Estrada's former aide Pauline Labayen, Department of Budget and Management Undersecretary Mario Relampagos and government employees Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule, Marilou Bare, Allan Javellana, Rhodora Mendoza, Maria Julie Villaralvo-Johnson, Victor Roman Cacal, and Romulo Relevo.

Also covered by the hold departure order are detained businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles and her suspected agent John Raymond de Asis.

The court directed the Bureau of Immigration to include the respondets in its Hold Departure List and stop any attempts of the accused to leave the country.

Estrada and other respondents also face graft charges for his alleged involvement in the embezzlement of Priority Development Assistance Funds through Napoles' dummy organizations.

The hold departure order was the first action of the division following the raffle of cases last Friday, June 13, 2014.

The three divisions each assigned to handle cases against Estrada, Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., and Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, are given 10 days to review and determine the release of an arrest warrant.