Panelo: ‘Time for reckoning’ has come for Aquino

Presidential chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

The “time for reckoning” has come for former president Benigno Aquino III after the Office of the Ombudsman indicted him over his alleged hand in the botched 2015 Mamasapano operation, President Duterte’s chief legal counsel said Saturday.

“Sooner or later the law will catch up on those who use power or wealth to shield themselves from the majesty of the law,” lawyer Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

On Friday, the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of criminal charges against Aquino for his liability in the Mamasapano massacre that cost the lives of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) officers.

In her resolution, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered the filing of charges against Aquino for Usurpation of Authority (Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code) and violation of Section 3(a) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019).

READ: Aquino faces raps for usurpation of authority over Mamasapano mess

“There is a time for reckoning and the time has finally come for the former president,” Panelo said. “Dura lex, sed Lex, (the law might be harsh, but it is the law) no power nor wealth can escape from it, it can only delay its coming, but when it does, it operates ex propio vigore (with full force and effect).”

The camp of Aquino, through his spokesperson Abigal Valte said there  “appears to have been a misappreciation of some facts” and Aquino was expected to file a motion for reconsideration. JPV

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