Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla indicated that it is improbable for retired police Col. and former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma to contest her detention in the United States.
The Philippine government plans to invoke the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with the United States to facilitate the return of Garma, who is accused of involvement in alleged money laundering activities, Remulla said during an impromptu interview on Monday, November 18.
“I am asking the immigration people to do the formal work but anyway we have an MLAT or the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty so we will work this out,” he added.
“They’re actually after her properties which she stored there, her money laundering activities, and of course, human rights violations that were part of the Magnitsky Act.”
The MLAT mandates that both parties extend mutual assistance in preventing, investigating, and prosecuting criminal offenses, as well as in handling proceedings connected to criminal cases.
On the other hand, the Magnitsky Act, enacted in 2016, allows the U.S. government to impose sanctions, including entry bans and asset freezes, against foreign officials implicated in human rights abuses.
U.S. authorities arrested and detained Garma on November 7 following the cancellation of her visa. Her lawyer, Atty. Emerito Quilang, stated that Garma had no intention of hiding in the U.S. and that her visa was valid when she departed the Philippines.
During her first appearance at the House Quad Committee in September 13, Garma revealed that she was unable to board her connecting flight to the US from Japan on August 28 because she was told her visa was no longer valid.
Philippine officials are probing Garma for her alleged role in the murder of Wesley Barayuga, the board secretary of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). During a hearing of the quad committee, Police Lieutenant Colonel Santie Mendoza of the PNP-Drug Enforcement Group and police informant Nelson Mariano accused Garma and National Police Commission Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo of orchestrating Barayuga’s assassination. (TCSP)
