22 September 2005 – Philippine Consul General in Los Angeles Marciano A. Paynor, Jr. reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Consulate has assisted Gen. Raymundo Jarque (Ret) and his wife, Mrs. Zenia Jarque, in returning to the Philippines after U.S. Immigration officials at the Dallas International Airport detained on 20 September 2005 the Filipino couple upon their arrival there via a Korean Airlines flight from Manila.

Consul General Paynor said that Gen. and Mrs. Jarque are scheduled to arrive in Manila at 10:45 a.m., Friday, 23 September 2005, at the NAIA aboard KE 621 from Seoul.  They are booked to leave the United States shortly after 12 midnight of 22 September 2005.

The Consulate General reported that “Gen. Jarque and his wife were detained and denied entry to the U.S. due to General Jarque’s inclusion in the U.S. terrorist watch list for his prior affiliation with the National Democratic Front.”  Consul General Paynor said he spoke with the daughter of Gen. Jarque, Ms. Melissa Cunanan, who lives in Irving, Texas and who is the purpose of the Jarque couple’s trip to the U.S.

Consul General Paynor also spoke with Gen. Jarque on the evening  of 20 September 2005 regarding the assistance being extended by the Consulate and the Embassy in Washington D.C.  The Consul General said the Consulate coordinated with Atty. Arlene Macchetta of Houston for possible legal assistance or advice in Dallas, which Ms. Cunanan may avail of in case she intends to secure the release of her parents.  Atty. Macchetta, in turn, recommended to Ms. Cunanan the law firm of Mr. Jose Reina in Dallas.

However, Consul General Paynor said that General and Mrs. Jarque had decided to sign papers for their immediate return to the Philippines and that they were not interested to challenge the decision of the U.S. immigration authorities in Dallas.  General and Mrs. Jarque were temporarily transferred to another facility in preparation for their return to the Philippines as Dallas Immigration had no detention facility within the airport premises or in Dallas City proper.

Consul General Paynor said that on the morning of 21 September 2005, Ms. Cunanan had made arrangements so that her parents could fly back to the Philippines later in the evening  on a Korean Airlines flight departing from Los Angeles.  The Consul General added that Ms. Cunanan and the Jarque grandchildren were allowed to visit the couple in the afternoon of 21 September 2005 prior to their flight back to Manila.

The Consulate General has made arrangements for any possible assistance for the Jarque couple during their stop-over in Los Angeles.  END