INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
An official of the opposition Liberal Party (LP) said he woke up with a “tale of two kinds of justice” on Thursday — one is the United States indicting Janet Lim-Napoles, the other is Malacañang dismissing Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang from his post.
“This is a tale of two kinds of justice. On one hand, a foreign country went after the accused swiftly,” Erin Tañada, Vice President for External Affairs of the LP said in a statement.
“On the other, it is the suspects going after the investigators,” he added.
Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel scam, and five of her family members were indicted for conspiring to transfer some $20 million of public funds from the country to the US.
READ: Napoles, 5 others, indicted for funneling $20M into US from PH
Carandang, meanwhile, was sacked by the Malacañang for graft and corruption and betrayal of public trust. The order came after he disclosed to the media the alleged unexplained wealth of President Rodrigo Duterte.
READ: Malacañang fires Deputy Ombudsman Carandang
Tañada said the two events reflect “a worrying culture of selective and fake justice that must not be allowed to thrive” in the country.
He said Filipinos continue to witness swift political persecutions of foes under the Duterte administration, while cronies are given leeway.
He cited the multi-million drug smuggling scandal in the Bureau of Customs and other cases that indicate “priorities in this administration.”
“We call on the Department of Justice to expedite investigations on the pork barrel scam. We urge the Ombudsman to delve deeper into the dismissal of Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang,” Tañada said.
“Lastly, we call on our people to be vigilant in the face of selective justice,” he added. /je