Manila, May 19 -- The Court of Appeals (CA) has stopped a Taguig court from releasing an Australian national wanted by the Indonesian government on drug charges.

In a decision dated May 14 and made public Monday, the appellate court's Third Division stopped the Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 267 from freeing Gregor Haas, an alleged Sinoloa drug cartel operator.

The CA ruling granted the Bureau of Immigration (BI) petition, which questioned Taguig City RTC Judge Antonio Olivete's decision in December 2024 for the "execution pending appeal" of his order granting liberty to Haas as sought by his Filipina mother, Soledad.

In her petition, Soledad pointed out that Haas is not facing criminal charges in the Philippines and is a Fil...