FILE PHOTO: Bayan Muna executive vice president and former congressman Carlos Isagani Zarate
MANILA, Philippines —Progressive organization Bayan Muna on Friday voiced its displeasure with the speed with which the son of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla was acquitted of illegal narcotics possession by a court in Las Pias City.
The group argued that all Filipinos, including political prisoners and the underserved, should have access to such preferential care, not just those in positions of power. People were very vocal about how outraged they were about the double standard that exists in modern society, it added.
Mainly because the prosecution could not truly show Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the Las Piñas City Regional Trial Court Branch 197 acquitted him of narcotics possession charges.
On October 11, 2022, Remulla III was arrested after receiving nearly a kilogram of kush, an extremely potent type of marijuana.
READ: Remulla III acquitted of illegal drug possession charge
Bayan Muna executive vice president Carlos Isagani Zarate said this fast decision of the lower court reinforces the “tragic reality” that the Philippine justice system favors the privileged and powerful while trampling upon the poor and vulnerable.
“If only this kind of swift resolution to a highly controversial case involving a scion of influential families like the Remullas will also be applied to the cases of hundreds of political prisoners and thousands more [of] less privileged Filipinos languishing in many detention facilities all over the country, we can honestly say this indeed is a welcome one, an exemplar of how our justice system works,” he said in a statement.
READ: DOJ chief Remulla to let son face consequences for P1.3 million kush importation
“Sanaol other long pending cases are as expeditiously decided like that of the young Remulla. While poor families or victims of trumped up charges languish in jail for years, even decades, the young Remulla’s case is not even three months old,” he added.
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