De Lima to Chris Brown: Secure clearance from Immigration bureau

Nearly three days after he was barred from leaving the country, American R&B singer Chris Brown has yet to secure from the Philippine government a clearance that would finally allow him to leave.

In an interview, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima advised the 26-year-old singer to secure from the Bureau of Immigration an emigration clearance certificate (ECC), the permit he has to get after being placed under the government's lookout bulletin order (LBO) due to a pending P1-million case of swindling through estafa.

"He has to coordinate with the BI because the BI commission has the authority to either grant or deny the ECC... I understand ... BI Commissioner Siegfred Mison [has] already sent repeated notices to the camp of Mr. Chris Brown – doon sa need for him to apply for ECC," De Lima told reporters.

"Pero mukhang wala pa silang ginagawa, neither Chris Brown nor an authorized representative of his has taken steps in securing the ECC," she added.

The Justice secretary admitted not being "very familiar" with the requirements in securing an ECC, but said it would involve the BI coordinating with the National Prosecution Service to determine Brown still has pending "pananagutan or legal obligation" that would require him to stay on in the Philippines a little bit longer.

De Lima assured Brown's camp he would be allowed to leave once he secures an ECC, "because a lookout bulletin order cannot prevent anyone from leaving."

"An LBO is essentially a communication tool na kapag may mag-apply sa amin na gusto pa pigilan sino man na umalis, whether Filipino or alien, ay hindi ako makakapag-issue ng hold departure order (HDO) o watchlist order (WLO) dahil wala sa akin ngayon ang kapangyarihan na iyan," said De Lima.

The Supreme Court earlier issued a restraining order preventing the DOJ from issuing WLOs. De Lima said the courts can also issue HDOs, "but since wala pa ang case sa court, wala pa puwede, I issued an LBO [instead]."

A preliminary investigation on the estafa complaint against Brown is already set to be conducted by the DOJ to determine whether it can be elevated to the courts.

De Lima said the handling prosecutor, Christine Buencamino, may later issue subpoenas for the BI, but admitted it would still be up to Brown to decide if he would be personally participating and showing up at the PI. De Lima said a respondent has the option to waive his appearance during a preliminary probe.

BI spokesperson Elaine Tan on Friday also confirmed that, "Wala pa pong ECC application [ang kampo ni Brown]."

Tan said the BI is aware of Brown's current whereabouts but said she could not disclose it "for security reasons."

Brown was barred from leaving the country after a one-night-only concert at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Tuesday, in connection with his failure to appear at a New Year's event concert of the Iglesia Ni Cristo despite being paid for it.

Brown and his promoter John Michael Pio Roda were accused by the MDC of swindling under Article 315, Paragraph 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code.

Roda, through his Pinnacle Live Concepts Limited, agreed to bring Brown to the Philippines and have him perform at the INC concert on December 31 for a cost of $1,006,250.00.

MDC's marketing arm, J. Williams Management Group Inc (JWMGI), made an initial payment of US$87,500 to Roda and US$350,000 on October 13, 2014.

Another payment was made on December 1, 2014 to Roda's Pinnacle worth US$45,000 and to Brown worth US$350,000.

The complainant said Brown's non-appearance and the eventual reportage of it in the media caused embarrassment, financial damages, and damage to MDC's reputation.

MDC said it demanded Roda to return the payment and cover the expenses incurred related to the event, but the promoter refused to do so.

The complainant said it has also "continuously tried to settle amicably with the respondent but to no avail."

Pio Roda allegedly gave inconsistent and conflicting reasons as to why Brown failed to go to the Philippines. —LBG, GMA News