ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro. (FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The Makabayan bloc of legislators is considering opening an investigation into the arrest of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s son over drug possession because of what they see as a double standard.
According to Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. France Castro on Friday, the handling of law enforcers when they arrested Remulla’s son Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III, was handled differently than the arrests of thousands of other drug suspects during the government’s war on drugs.
Castro compared the case against the younger Remulla to that of detained former senator Leila de Lima, saying authorities obtained no physical evidence from the ex-legislator. Still, de Lima remains in the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame.
“The double standard becomes more glaring if we compare it with the thousands killed in the bogus drug war of the past administration. The secretary’s son was arrested on October 11 but it was only made public on Oct. 13. What transpired during that time?” Castro asked.
“If he was not the son of Sec. Boying, maybe the media was immediately brought to that drug operation and news of it quickly spread, or worse, maybe the drug suspect was already killed and was said to have resisted arrest,” she claimed.
Remulla’s son was arrested during a controlled delivery operation led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) last October 11. He was found in possession of over one kilogram of kush, a variant of the cannabis plant which is illegal in the country.
Reports say the illegal substance had a P1.3 million street value.
READ: Son of DOJ chief Remulla arrested for involvement in alleged kush importation
Castro said they would study if it is needed to ask a House of Representatives committee to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, Gabriella Rep. Arlene Brosas also shared Castro’s view, claiming that the arrest of the younger Remulla shows that rich people can face justice and would be considered innocent until proven otherwise — unlike drug war victims who were killed on the spot during operations.
“Over 30,000 poor victims of the war on drugs did not experience any investigation and were easily killed off. Meanwhile, the son of a DOJ secretary will be given the chance to go through due process,” Brosas said.
“If you are rich and you are the son of a government official, you would be given the chance for due process. But if you are poor, you would be arrested or shot dead,” she added.
After the arrest was made public on Thursday, Secretary Remulla assured the public that he would not intervene in his son’s case. Remulla’s statements were echoed by the prosecutor who filed the case, saying that the Department of Justice has not interfered in filing the case.
READ: Nat’l Prosecution Service vows fairness in drug case of DOJ chief’s son
The drug war, a campaign of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was criticized by opposition sectors due to it being violent and supposedly violative of human rights. Several drug war critics — including those who filed crimes against humanity raps against Duterte before the International Criminal Court — say that drug war deaths are anywhere between 12,000 to 30,000.
However, the government’s official tally a month before Duterte stepped down from office last June 30 was at 6,252 drug suspects killed in legitimate operations.
READ: 6,252 drug suspects killed as of May 31 – PDEA
The Duterte administration has maintained that the killings during the drug war operations are justifiable, as drug suspects fought it out against police officers.
The police have been accused of killing drug suspects summarily, like Kian delos Santos, who was shot dead in Caloocan in August 2017. Although he surrendered and pleaded with authorities, Delos Santos was shot dead. In November 2018, three police officers were convicted.
READ: 3 policemen guilty of killing Kian delos Santos — court