(Photo: Sandiganbayan Facebook page)
The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division on Monday, April 27, issued a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) against Sen. Francis Joseph “Chiz” Escudero and businessman Maynard Siy Ngu.
The anti-graft court also directed the commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to prevent their departure from the Philippines and to include their names in the agency’s Hold Departure List.
Earlier in the day, the Sixth Division conducted a hearing on the petition filed by the Office of the Ombudsman seeking the issuance of a PHDO against Escudero and Ngu. The petition was raffled to the division on Saturday.
A PHDO is an order issued by a court directing the BI to bar a person from leaving the country while a case is pending.
Escudero and Ngu are being investigated in connection with an alleged flood control controversy.