Harsh, inhumane, and unjust.
This was how Graham Chua Lim, secretary-general of the Basketball Association of the Philippines, described former Justice secretary and senatorial bet Leila de Lima, who had unduly reversed a department ruling that exiled Lim abroad despite the fact that he was born and raised in the Philippines.
Lim accused De Lima of conniving with his rivals in the industry to deny him entry back home. He blamed De Lima for his predicament after the former Justice chief reversed a DoJ ruling declaring him a “stateless” person in September 2010, one who may be allowed permanent residency in the Philippines.
Lim said he was forced into exile when De Lima issued Circular Number 058, which effectively reversed his status as a “stateless” person and declared him an undesirable alien.
“[De Lima] came up with Circular Number 058 that was issued in October 2012 and implemented on May 15, 2013 against me in order to defend its decision [to] reverse my ‘stateless’ person status,” Lim said.
The DoJ Circular, he explained, ruled that he was an “undesirable alien” and therefore subject to deportation.
Lim stressed that the DoJ secretary has no power to reverse the Bureau of Immigration ruling that declared him a “stateless” person. He also said that the prescribed period had lapsed since more than two years had passed when the order declaring him “stateless” was issued.
“This Circular should apply only to cases that occurred beginning October 2012 and not to those people that were declared ‘stateless’ before then. In doing so, it acted retroactively in my case,” argued Lim.
The sports patron said he could not understand the interest of De Lima in his case.
“I could not comprehend why De Lima would waste a lot of precious time to act harshly and inhumanely against my person in the form of an exile when I am simply an ordinary person who wishes to help uplift Philippine sports,” lamented Lim.
Lim said that harassment and intimidation against his family has already taken its toll, as he had been unable to see his family for more than three years.
“My family has suffered long enough, struggling on how to make both ends meet in the Philippines while I have been hard up financially, emotionally and spiritually in a country that has remained alien to me until now. I have been inhumanely forced to wander in a foreign country without any permanent residency and direction.”