DOJ chief: Imee’s raps over Du30 arrest ‘ a bit strange’
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Wednesday questioned the Ombudsman’s procedures in ordering him and several officials to respond to criminal and administrative complaints over the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, while also casting doubt on the filing made by the Senate committee on foreign relations.
“It seems the procedure isn’t clear because, before, there was a fact-finding process and rules that were published. This time, it’s like there was no fact-finding at all, it went straight to us,” Remulla told reporters in an interview at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Despite these concerns, he said he would comply with the directive and submit his counteraffidavit.
In two separate orders issued by the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday, Remulla and his brother, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, along with Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Nicolas Torre III, and Special Envoy for Transnational Crimes Markus Lacanilao, were ordered to submit their counteraffidavits within 10 days, along with their witnesses’ affidavits.
This is after the Senate committee on foreign relations headed by Sen. Imee Marcos filed a complaint against them over the March 11 arrest of Duterte and his turnover to the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
‘Not even a committee report’
Echoing the DOJ’s reply to the petitions filed with the Supreme Court over the former president’s arrest, Remulla said the government did not violate the law when it helped in the arrest of Duterte and his handover to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity for his bloody war on drugs.
“We will respond to every issue, that everything that happened was within legal bounds, all of it was according to the law,” Remulla said.
The DOJ chief also questioned the complaint, as he criticized the timing of the filing.
“It’s actually the complaint itself, I found it a bit strange, it’s not even a committee report. Why the haste? Why not wait for the committee report, since that’s [the result of] the committee’s investigation? What was contained was the chairman’s report, that’s a little strange,” Remulla said.
“Once the election is over, that should be the end of it, because it seems like [the investigation] was just in aid of getting publicity for the elections,” he added.
