PNP Maritime Group guarding PH backdoor exits amid flood control mess lookout order

The Maritime Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it has been monitoring the country’s backdoor routes to keep an eye out for certain personalities tagged in alleged anomalies in flood control projects.

This is part of their enforcement of the lookout bulletin order issued against individuals implicated in ongoing probes on the corruption scandal.

“Kasama rin po sa binabantayan. Sinasabi namin doon sa order natin sa baba. Para sa ganun, kung merong mga na-file-an na na mga kaso, mga personality, ay agad-agad i-hold,” Maritime Group acting director Police Colonel Pedro Martinez said in a press briefing.

(They are also among those being monitored. We cascade that order to our ground personnel. So that if these personalities have cases filed against them, they will be immediately held.)

“Hindi sila makalabas ng ating bansa,” he added.

(They will not be allowed to leave our country.)

On Oct. 8, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it has received the Department of Justice's (DOJ) immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) against 33 individuals tagged in the flood control mess.

An ILBO instructs immigration officers to double check if there are any pending arrest warrants against the subjects, any violation or infraction, or to monitor their itineraries and whereabouts should they attempt to leave the country.

Last week, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the names of the 33 individuals were immediately included in the BI’s centralized database and that the travels of these individuals will be strictly monitored.

Earlier, Independent Commission for Infrastructure chair and retired Justice Andres Reyes requested the DOJ to issue an ILBO against several government officials, including incumbent lawmakers. Most of the lawmakers and public officials on the list have denied any role in the controversy.

Reyes said these individuals have been linked to non-existent or “ghost” projects, or the substandard implementation of flood control projects.

He stressed that the timely issuance of an ILBO is of “utmost necessity” to enable the ICI to “proceed without delay and to hold those liable accountable to the Filipino people.” — JMA, GMA Integrated News