Nobleza's estranged husband asks Sandiganbayan to lift hold departure order

The estranged husband of Superintendent Maria Cristina Nobleza has asked the Sandiganbayan to lift the hold departure order against him over charges in relation to the Morong 43 case.

In a motion dated April 18, Senior Superintendent Allan Nobleza asked the anti-graft court's Seventh Division to lift the hold departure order against him, as he intends to perform his duties as Police Attaché to the Philippine Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.

This will go on until the end of his tour of duty on Nov. 11, 2018.

The court, in the minutes of the proceedings dated May 29, said the prosecution had already filed their opposition to Nobleza's motion.

Nobleza has also replied to the prosecution's opposition.

However, the court said they could not resolve the matter without a comment from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, to which the National Police Commission is attached.

"Considering that the pendency of these cases against accused Nobleza coincides with his detail by the National Police Commission as Police Attaché to Islamabad, Pakistan, and pursuant to Section 6 of Rule 135 to guide this Court before it acts on the Motion, the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, as its ex-officio chairman, is hereby directed to comment on the matter," the court said in the minutes.

The court gave the DILG within 10 days from receipt of the resolution to submit its comment.

Nobleza was one of those tagged in the arrest and alleged detention and torture of members of the so-called "Morong 43" in 2010.

He and 11 others, including Lt. Gen. Jorge Segovia, then commander of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, were charged for violating Section 4(a) of RA 7438, or the act defining the rights of person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation.

Meanwhile his former wife, Maria Cristina, a former deputy director of the Davao Regional Police Office's Crime Laboratory, came to national attention after she was arrested last April with Abu Sayyaf member Reenor Lou Dongon in Clarin, Bohol.

The arrest came while the military and police are hunting down suspected Abu Sayyaf members who slipped into Bohol, allegedly to carry out kidnappings.

Maria Cristina was later found having a romantic relationship with Dongon.

She and Allan have been annulled since 2010. —ALG, GMA News