‘Look-out’ order on Chris Brown meant to check status on estafa

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) placed international artist Chris Brown and his promoter, John Michael Pio Roda, in its Immigration Lookout Bulletin (ILB) pursuant to an order by the Department of Justice.

The order directed the BI to require foreign nationals subject of the ILB “to obtain an Emigration Clearance Certificate (ECC) before they can be allowed to depart from the Philippines.”

BI spokesperson Elaine Tan has explained that the ILB is not a hold-departure order, and is not on its own a bar to the departure of Brown and Roda.

“As the name suggests, the order merely directs the BI to be on the “lookout” and take prudent steps to verify on the status of the criminal case against the subjects. If the concerned agency raises no objection to the departure, then we will allow the subject to leave,” said Tan in a statement.

For foreign nationals, the ILB requires subjects to obtain the ECC, pursuant to Section 22-A of the Philippine Immigration Act, to ensure that the foreign national has no pending obligations in the Philippines.

Brown, according to Tan, will be allowed to depart provided he satisfies the ECC requirement.

LOOK OUT! Would recording artist Chris Brown have quipped, “Don’t wake me up,” had he known authorities would stop him from leaving the country on Wednesday, a day after his one-night concert? ARNOLD ALMACEN

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