DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR NO.

18
PRESCRIBING RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE ISSUANCE AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF WATCHLIST ORDERS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Whereas, Circular No. 39-97 dated June 19, 1997, Circular No. 3-99 dated January 12, 1999
and Circular No. 18-2003 dated February 20, 2003, all of the Office of the Court
Administrator, Supreme Court, are clear that "Hold-Departure Order shall be issued only in
criminal cases within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Courts," but are silent
with respect to those cases falling within the jurisdiction of courts below the RTC and those
pending final determination by government prosecution offices;
Whereas, there is a need to fill up the gap for cases pending final determination by
government prosecution offices;
Whereas, being the head of the principal law agency of the government mandated to,
among other things, investigate the commission of crimes, prosecute offenders, and provide
immigration regulatory services (Section 3[1], [2] & [6], Chapter I, Title III, Book IV, E.O. 292),
the Secretary of Justice, apart from the regular courts, is in the best position to institute
measures to prevent any miscarriage of justice, but at the same time, safeguard the
individual's right to travel;
Now, therefore, pursuant to the provisions of existing laws, the following rules and
regulations are hereby adopted to govern the issuance, lifting, and implementation of the
Watchlist Orders without prejudice to the issuance of the Hold-Departure Orders by the
Department under Department Circular No. 17, s. 1998.
Section 1. Watchlist Order (WLO). - A Watchlist Order (WLO) may be issued by the
Secretary of Justice in criminal cases which are pending preliminary investigation or petition
for review before the Department of Justice.
a. In cases pending preliminary investigation, the requesting party must submit the following
documents:
i. duly notarized letter request;
ii. original or certified true copy of the complaint; and
iii. certification from the National Prosecution Service stating that the case is pending
preliminary investigation.
b. In cases pending motion for reconsideration/petition for review before the Department of
Justice, the requesting party must submit the following documents:
i. duly notarized letter-request;
ii. original or certified true copy of the resolution; and
iii. certification from the National Prosecution Service stating that the case is pending
motion for reconsideration/petition for review.
To ensure the proper identification of the subject of the WLO, the application/request filed
with the Legal Staff of the Department of Justice shall likewise set forth the following
information:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

subject's complete name, i.e., his given name, family and middle name or initial;
aliases, if any;
date and place of birth;
last place of residence; and
photograph, if available.

Section 2. Notice to Person Subject of a Watchlist Order. - A copy of the WLO as

implemented by the Commissioner of Immigration upon order by the Secretary of Justice
shall be sent to the person subject of WLO, at his last known address so that he may, if he

so desires, move for its lifting/cacellation setting forth the grounds therefor.
Section 3. Lifting or Cancellation of WLO. - A WLO shall be lifted or cancelled upon the
expiration of the validity thereof under the succeeding section, or upon the termination of the
preliminary investigation and/or petition for review before the Department of Justice, as the
case may be.
The requesting party must submit the following requirements:
i. duly notarized letter-request;
ii. original or certified true copy of the resolution; or
iii. certification from the National Prosecution Service that the case has been dismissed.
The order for the lifting or cacellation of the WLO shall be forwarded to the Commissioner of
Immigration for implementation, copy furnished the parties.
Section 4. Validity of WLO. - A WLO issued by the Secretary of Justice under these rules
shall be valid for sixty (60) days from the date of its issuance, unless sooner terminated or
otherwise extended for non-extendible period of not more than sixty (60) days.
Section 5. Certification of Not the Same Person. - In case a person is prevented from
leaving the country because of a Watchlist or Hold-Departure Order (WLO/HDO) issued by
the Secretary of Justice and said person is not the same person whose name appears in the
WLO/HDO, the interested party may request for a certification and submit the following
documents:
i. duly notarized letter-request;
ii. affidavit of denial; and
iii. clearance from appropriate government agencies.
Section 6. Allow-Departure Order (ADO). - In case a person subject of a Watchlist/holdDeparture Order issued by the Secretary of Justice intends to leave the country for some
exceptional reasons, the Secretary of Justice may allow the departure of said person upon
submission of the following documents:
i. duly notarized letter-request;
ii. affidavit of undertaking stating the purpose and the inclusive period of the intended
travel; and
iii. authority to travel from the investigating prosecutor where the case is pending (for
those under WLO); or
iv. authority to travel from the appropriate office where the case is pending (for those
under HDO)
Section 7. Hold-Departure Orders (HDO). - The issuance of HDOs by this Department
shall be governed by existing rules, specifically Department Circular No. 17, s.1998.
Section 8. Fees. - Pursuant to Republic Act No. 9279 and its Implementing Rules and
Regulations, there shall be collected and paid to the Cashier's Office of this Department the
following processing fees to cover the administrative costs for services rendered by the
Legal Staff, to wit:
a. Issuance/lifting or cancellation/extension of WLO/HDO - P2,500.00
b. Issuance of Allow-Departure Order - P2,500.00
c. Issuance of certification - P500.00
Section
9.
April 23, 2007.

Effectivity.

(Signed)RAUL M. GONZALEZ
Secretary

These

Rules

shall

take

effect

immediately.