Roque to press prosecutor’s ouster

From left Julita Laude, Atty. Virgie Suarez. Marc Sueselbeck, Atty. Harry Roque, Marilou Laude arrived at a preliminary investigation. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Unfazed by a reprimand from the justice secretary, the lawyer of the family of slain Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude will go ahead with his bid to have Olongapo City prosecutor Emilie de los Santos disqualified from the case, saying her removal would guarantee impartiality.

Lawyer Harry Roque said yesterday he would formalize his petition to have De los Santos removed from the government prosecution panel this week, reiterating his earlier statements where he accused her of bias against the victim’s camp.

Roque said he would also seek a meeting with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on the matter.

De los Santos heads the government panel investigating the murder complaint against US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, the suspect in Laude’s death on Oct. 11.

Pemberton is being held under US custody at the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

The Olongapo City prosecutor’s office has submitted the complaint for resolution after a preliminary investigation last month.

“It (De los Santos’ removal) will assure the victim and the rest of the country that all the members of the (prosecution) panel will be impartial,” Roque said yesterday.

Roque made the statement in response to De Lima’s comments on Friday, where she warned Roque against making remarks accusing De los Santos of being “antagonistic” toward the Laude camp and of favoring the Americans.

Insufficient basis

De Lima said Roque should not make “sweeping” allegations of bias against De los Santos and the Department of Justice “without clear and sufficient basis.”

The secretary said such statements might be misconstrued as a way to “pressure [De los Santos] and influence the outcome of the case.”

But Roque said De los Santos was just one in a panel of five handling the case.

“It’s a five-man panel. How can our move to inhibit one of five affect the panel?” Roque said.

He maintained that he had proof of his allegations: “She has no basis [to say we lack evidence] since she hasn’t seen our petition.”

Roque earlier cited De los Santos’ demeanor toward Laude’s private lawyers during televised hearings as a basis for his claim of bias.

The lawyer had said in media interviews last week that he would seek De los Santos’ disqualification because of her bias against the Laude camp.

Prosecutor General Claro Arellano had earlier said in a statement that there was “no basis for inhibition” as the Laude camp’s “claim of bias [against De los Santos] is mere allegation.”

This riled Roque, who said Arellano had denied the disqualification petition before it could even be filed.

On Friday, De Lima defended Arellano, saying he had merely given a “general statement” to the media.