NAPC Secretary Liza Maza in a press briefing held in Malacanang.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / JOAN BONDOC
President Rodrigo Duterte had no hand in the arrest order issued by a Nueva Ecija trial court against embattled Anti-Poverty chief Liza Maza, Malacañang said on Tuesday.
This was in response to the claim of leftist groups that the issuance of arrest orders against leftist leaders was a form of political persecution by the Duterte administration.
But Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that Duterte would not have had any hand on the issuance of warrants by the Palayan City, Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court because the judiciary is a separate branch of government.
“It’s in court, it’s been in court, and it’s a warrant of arrest issued by a court, not by the executive branch. We don’t have the power to issue warrants of arrest,” Roque said in a press briefing.
The Palayan City, Nueva Ecija RTC Branch 40 issued arrest warrants against Maza and other leftist leaders and former lawmakers.
READ: Malacañang to Liza Maza: Turn yourself in
The arrest orders stemmed from the murder charges filed in 2006 during the Arroyo administration for alleged election-related violence.
“That’s a separate branch of government. The task of the executive is to implement the law. If there’s a warrant of arrest, it’s the task of the executive, through our law enforcement agencies, to make sure that these warrants of arrest are properly served,” Roque said.
On the other hand, Roque said they have also urged Maza to surrender to authorities to prove her innocence before the court. /jpv
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