MANILA, Philippines - Senator Jinggoy Estrada can leave the country whenever he wants pending the Department of Foreign Affairs' (DFA) action on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) request to cancel his passport.
"Wala tayong nakikitang legal impediments for Senator Jinggoy Estrada na umalis ngayon ... kasi wala pang aksyon ang DFA, wala naman tayong [hold departure order]. Wala kaming legal basis at this point na pigilan s'ya," Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said in a radio interview on Monday.
"Hindi naman ako ang magde-decide sa passport na 'yan, ako lang naman ang nagmungkahi. Discretion po 'yan ng DFA, sang-ayon sa batas," she added.
Last week, the DOJ requested the DFA to cancel the passports of Estrada and 36 other respondents in the pork barrel fund scam case filed by the government before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Prompted by the DOJ's request, the DFA asked the respondents to comment on the request for cancellation of their passports.
Estrada and fellow senators Bong Revilla and Juan Ponce Enrile have been charged with plunder over the pork barrel fund scam. Their chiefs of staff and several other private individuals, including businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, were also charged in connection with the fund scam.
De Lima said that Estrada had informed her of his plan to fly to the United States even before the senator made a public announcement.
Related: Passport showdown: Jinggoy plans US trip amid DFA review
She said that she was the one who advised the senator to make his plans public for the sake of transparency.
"Okay lang po 'yan [that he leaves]. At least he had the courtesy to inform us, na umamin siya na ganun ang plano, kasi baka naman dati na nilang plano, given the reason cited--the health condition of the wife," she said.
"Nagbigay ako sa kanya ng unsolicited advice na sinabi ko: You should publicly manifest your intention to leave ... para alam ng buong bayan para alam na may plano siyang bumalik, e sinabi naman n'ya, babalik naman talaga ako, talaga naman daw naka-schedule," De Lima recounted.
The DFA can also choose to delay issuing a decision on the DOJ request given Estrada's impending absence, De Lima said.
"Puwedeng i-defer na muna. Theoretically, 'pag hindi na bumalik (ang respondents), there are measures the DFA can do something about it," she added, explaining that canceled passports would force them to return to the country.
De Lima said that the bid to cancel the respondents' passports is a preemptive measure in case more would attempt to flee from the mutli-billion peso charges. To date, four respondents including former Agusan del Sue Rep. Rodolfo Plaza, former senatorial aides Jessica "Gigi" Reyes and Ruby Tuason went abroad ahead of the case filing and have not yet returned.
"By the looks of it, mukhang sinadyang umalis para iwasan yung kaso. Yung mga timing napaka-suspicious. Hanggang ngayon, hindi parin bumabalik as per the record of (the Bureau of Immigration). Ayaw ko na rin madagdagan yung mga umaalis na. I think that's why way of flushing them out, para bumalik sila dito, lalo na yung mga chiefs of staff," she said.