Interior Secretary Robredo: No feud with Justice Secretary De Lima

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo on Friday denied having a turf war with Justice Secretary De Lima over who’s in charge of high-profile cases handled by the agencies under their jurisdiction, the Philippine National Police (PNP) or the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Asked by reporters on the possibility that the NBI, under De Lima’s Department of Justice (DOJ), might be called in to probe the attack on Palace reporter Fernan Jose Angeles, Robredo said: “Our relationship with De Lima is above all of this.”

“We have no interest [whether the case is with] the PNP or the NBI,” Robredo told reporters. Angeles survived a beating and shooting by assailants on March 11 near his home in Pasig City.

Robredo cited cases when the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the DOJ agreed to delegate the investigation of certain cases, depending on whoever could muster more credible results or have better capability to do so.

Robredo said this was especially true in the case of the alleged hazing death of San Beda College law student Marvin Reglos.

“She herself called me up to say, ‘pwede ba sayo ito? (can you take care of this?)’”  he said.

But what is really happening says otherwise.

On Friday, the Inquirer reported that a finding by the NBI might jeopardize the case built by the police against the suspects in Reglos’ death because of conflicting information about the location of the alleged hazing and the fraternity in question.