The murder and torture case against police officers involved in the death of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos will be handled by the Caloocan City Prosecutors’ Office, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Wednesday.
“It is the Office of the City Prosecutor of Caloocan City which has jurisdiction to hear the case for preliminary investigation,” Aguirre said.
Running priest Fr. Robert Reyes and student leaders urged Aguirre to inhibit from handling the case because of his public pronouncements that appeared to have prejudged Kian’s case.
In their letter, they said they want Aguirre to allow the Ombudsman to handle Kian’s case.
READ: Student leaders formally seek Aguirre inhibition from Kian case
Aguirre, in a recent statement, however, said the request was “improperly laid.”
“The request is improperly laid as preliminary investigation is not lodged with the Office of the Secretary but with the National Prosecution Service (NPS),” Aguirre said.
He added that “venue is jurisdictional in criminal cases. Accordingly, it is the Office of the City Prosecutor of Caloocan City which has jurisdiction to hear the case for preliminary investigation.”
“The present request is premature since the Department has yet to act directly over the case. There is no complaint yet pending before the Office of the Secretary and, as stated above, the case is for preliminary investigation before the City Prosecutor of Caloocan,” he added.
Aguirre added that the motion to inhibit “appears to be dilatory” since not one of the signatories is a complainant nor was there any authority given by the family of the victim.
READ: Aguirre: Students seeking my inhibition in Kian case ‘misinformed’
He added that the signatures even failed to present evidence showing that his pronouncements during congressional inquiry could compromise the procedure in Kian’s case.
The DOJ chief added that while the Ombudsman has the power to investigate and prosecute on its own or on a complaint any public official, “its primary jurisdiction is however limited to cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan.”
“The present case of the killing of Kian Delos Santos is not among those cognizable by the Sandiganbayan, hence, not within the primary jurisdiction of the Ombudsman,” he added.
“The matters of voluntary inhibition are best left to the sound discretion of the investigating prosecutor, which in this case is the Office of the City Prosecutor of Caloocan,” Aguirre said. IDL