Gringo seeks SC injunction on DOJ probe

Why the rush?

Opposition Sen. Gregorio Honasan yesterday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) and writ of preliminary injunction against the Department of Justice to prevent the DOJ from continuing its preliminary investigation into his alleged involvement in the failed July 27 mutiny.

Honasan insisted that "the DOJ is out to railroad my case."

In a petition for certiorari filed before the High Tribunal, Honasan questioned the recent DOJ decision in which the department refused to rule on an earlier motion he filed seeking "clarification on the jurisdiction of the DOJ" to handle the coup d’état charges filed against him by the government, led by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr.

Honasan also assailed the DOJ for being arbitrary and has filed an urgent manifestation and motion asking prosecutors handling the case to hold in abeyance any proceedings until his petition before the SC is resolved.

Honasan said he has grown apprehensive of the DOJ’s apparent attempts to railroad the investigation and prosecution of the case against him.

He insisted that, being an elected official, the jurisdiction over his case belongs to the Office of the Ombudsman and not the DOJ. "The government is entering uncharted territory and it’s treading on treacherous waters by evading, instead of resolving squarely, the jurisdiction issue in handling Honasan’s case," his lead counsel Daniel Gutierrez said.

"There is a sense of deja vu that the martial law days are back," Gutierrez said. "Why is government rushing things? It appears the DOJ is bent on doing this even at the expense of due process and equal protection (of laws) guaranteed to Senator Honasan by the Constitution."

Gutierrez said the DOJ "practically circumvented resolving the legal controversy, yet putting undue pressure even if the matter was still pending," when it issued an "abeyance" order instead of one proper to Honasan’s motion clarifying the DOJ’s jurisdiction to handle his case.

"The DOJ refuses to resolve the issue on jurisdiction and yet it deceptively continues to assume jurisdiction over the case by requiring counter-affidavits before it," Honasan’s lawyer said.

He also questioned the DOJ claims that the question of jurisdiction can be properly decided only in the final resolution of the case.

"The DOJ gravely erred when it evaded the performance of its functions by deferring the resolution of the jurisdiction issue despite it being a prejudicial one to determine validity of the preliminary investigation itself," he added.

"It seems like this is a risk they are willing to take... just to justify placing Senator Honasan behind bars," Gutierrez said of the DOJ. "It is a very desperate ploy to divert public attention from the serious charges of corruption and bureaucratic incompetence plaguing the Arroyo administration."

This ploy, he said, "may well exact a high price, for whatever are the government’s selfish, short-term goals."

Gutierrez said the "premature declarations of... Lina and National Security Adviser Roilo Golez (indicate) a clear attempt to railroad the investigation and prosecution" of the case against Honasan.

He also said the DOJ has issued premature declarations of Honasan’s guilt before media even before the charges against the senator were filed."

Honasan denied in his petition allegations that he instigated the failed July 27 mutiny. He said his "public appearances and other engagements selling his program of government have been twisted out of context and made to appear that he is advocating a coup d’état.

"The railroading (of the Honasan case) continues up to the DOJ level, citing the defective service of summons, the omission of important annexes, affidavits and videos and, now, this DOJ order rushing the case even if its authority to act is precisely questioned," he said.

Gutierrez said the "irreparable damage done to Honasan’s good name as a duly elected senator is only the tip of the iceberg."

Honasan, Gutierrez said, is a public officer and the charges cooked up against him "arose while he was performing (his) duty" as a senator.

"Any advocacy of a national recovery program... would be in relation to the office of a senator. (Honasan) is not championing recovery and reform in his private capacity. He is urging it in his capacity as a senator in connection with his legislative duties," Gutierrez said. "It has to do with policy — a mission and a vision of a progressive, peaceful and democratic Philippines."

"If this kind of persecution continues and it is abetted by those in charge of the country’s criminal justice system, it will seriously damage the very core of our democracy," he warned. "The Supreme Court must prevent this from happening. It is (the SC’s) duty under the Constitution. It is not only a court of law, but, more important, it is a court of justice."