Sandigan OKs Atong Ang US travel

Charlie “Atong" Ang was granted a seven-day travel pass by the Sandiganbayan Special Division Friday to attend the marriage of his daughter in Las Vegas , Nevada, on January 19. Ang’s permit was made effective January 17 to 24 inclusive of travel time and subject to several conditions including a P750,000 cash bond and a visa and re-entry clearance from the United States embassy in Manila. His original request was for a 25-day pass from January 5 to 30. The graft court likewise told Ang to secure a new passport from the Department of Foreign Affairs, to refrain from any involvement in gambling activities while his travel pass is in effect, to present himself before the Philippine Consular Office in Nevada upon his arrival there and to report before the court immediately upon his return. Ang was a plunder co-accused of deposed president Joseph Estrada but is presently serving a two-year probation in lieu of a 28-month imprisonment imposed on him after he pleaded guilty to a lesser crime of corruption of public officials to evade prosecution on plunder, a capital offense carrying a penalty of life imprisonment and confiscation of any property deemed by the court to be ill-gotten. The court cited humanitarian considerations in granting Ang’s request for leave to travel abroad, noting that it is a tradition among Filipinos that a parent should be present on his child’s wedding day. Likewise, the Sandiganbayan noted that Ang’s travel to the US bore the conformity of his probation officer who was empowered by the law to endorse such a request if the probationer shows exemplary behavior. - GMANews.TV