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MANILA, Philippines – Kris Aquino and her 5-year-old son James “Bimby” Yap Jr. have been allowed by the court to leave the country for a vacation in Paris, France on Saturday, March 23.
According to ABS-CBNNEws.com, Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 144 junked the petition of basketball star James Yap for a hold departure order (HDO) on Aquino and their son.
The HDO was filed a few days after a temporary protection order (TPO) was granted to mother and son ordering Yap to maintain a 100-meter distance from them for 30 days.
Aquino had filed the petition for a TPO because Yap had allegedly made “overt sexual advances” to Aquino and had caused psychological harm to the boy.
Yap filed for the HDO after finding out about Aquino and Bimby’s Paris trip. He claimed that the departure would violate his visitation rights as Bimby’s father.
In an Inquirer.net article, Lorna Kapunan, Yap’s counsel, said, “You cannot take the child out of the jurisdiction of the court.”
The TV host and her son were set to leave for France so that Bimby could see Disneyland Paris.
But according to Inquirer.net, far from the court junking Yap’s HDO petition, the star cager had advised his counsel to withdraw the petition even before the March 22 hearing.
“Yap said he didn’t want to deprive his son of the chance to see Disneyland Paris,” said Kapunan.
Selfishness
Meanwhile, Aquino’s camp says they are willing to provide the court with details of their travels to assure Yap that he can still see his son.
In an article on ABS-CBNNews.com, Frank Chavez, Aquino’s lawyer, criticized Yap for initially seeking to keep mother and son in the country.
“This is a vacation the child has looked forward to, and Mr. Yap knows this. So this only reveals his selfishness when he now tries to block the travel of the son, despite the fact that he had been issued a TPO.”
Gag order
The court has also asked both Yap and Aquino to cease their verbal exchanges about the case. The gag order was issued a day after Aquino and her older sisters explained their side of the story on television and radio programs.
According to Chavez, the gag order covers the entire case and applies “not only to the parties and their counsel but even you (referring to the media).”
As of posting, Aquino’s petition to make the TPO permanent has not been decided upon by the court. –With reports by Pia Ranada/Rappler.com
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