THE Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday lifted its order to include on the Bureau of Immigration watch list former President Gloria Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel, and several others after the Commission on Elections dismissed the electoral-sabotage complaint filed against them.

In a two-page order, Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III directed the Bureau of Immigration to delete Mr. Arroyo’s name from its watch list as well as the names of former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra; lawyer Andrei Bon Tagum; former Malacañang spokesman and presidential adviser Gabriel Claudio; his executive assistant Bong Serrano; Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces agent Romy Dayday and Jeremy Javier.

“Whereas, on the basis of the dismissal of the aforementioned cases by the Comelec against Jose Miguel Arroyo…the legal basis for their continued inclusion in the WLO [watch-list order] ceased to exist,” the DOJ order said.

“Accordingly, their names are hereby ordered lifted from the Bureau of Immigration’s watch list, unless they are subject of a watch list-hold departure [order] in any other case/s,” it added.

Paras ordered the lifting of the WLO against Mr. Arroyo several hours before the Supreme Court held an oral argument on the petitions he and his wife have filed questioning the constitutionality of Justice Department Circular 41, which authorizes the of justice secretary to issue WLOs and HDOs.

The said circular was the basis of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima in placing the couple on the BI’s watch list pending the resolution of the various criminal cases filed against them.