Bam sees ‘culture of impunity’ at DOJ

Sen. Bam Aquino (File photo by INQUIRER.net)

Senator Bam Aquino on Friday said the “culture of impunity” was evident at the Department of Justice (DOJ) after it cleared suspected drug lords and placed the alleged pork barrel scam queen under provisional witness protection.

This as Aquino urged Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to resign to give way to a “credible and capable” DOJ chief.

“Sa loob ng isang linggo, napalaya ng Department of Justice ang mga drug lord at naipasok ang reyna ng pork barrel scam sa witness protection program,” Aquino said in a statement.

(In a matter of one week, the Department of Justice released the drug lords and placed under the witness protection program the queen of pork barrel scam.)

“For the ordinary Filipino to have any hope for justice, the DOJ must stop perpetrating the culture of impunity in our country and begin upholding the rule of law,” the senator said.

Days after the resolution clearing Peter Lim and Kerwin Espinosa of drug-related charges, the DOJ announced that it has placed alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles under provisional coverage of the witness protection program (WPP).

In light of this, Aquino reminded DOJ that “theirs is to enact justice for the Filipino people, not to protect drug lords and criminal masterminds.”

“Nasaan ang hustisya para sa mga biktima ng war on drugs at para sa taumbayang nanakawan ng pinaghirapang yaman?” the senator said.

(Where is justice for the victims of war on drugs and for the people who were robbed of their hard-earned money?)

“The President should put his house in order. Secretary Aguirre should resign to give way to a credible and capable Justice secretary,” he said. /jpv

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