Palace exec backs DOJ probe vs JPE

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya , Philippines   â€“ A Malacañang official yesterday backed the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s creation of a task force to investigate the alleged illegal activities of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile.

Secretary Manuel Mamba of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office lauded the DOJ’s move and called for public support for the sake of justice and truth.

“A commendable move by the secretary of justice to seek the truth... All of us should support her on this,” said Mamba, a provincemate of Enrile.

The DOJ had earlier formed a special task force led by Undersecretary Jose Justiniano to look into Enrile’s alleged involvement in illegal gambling, illegal logging and illegal importation of vehicles in the senator’s home province of Cagayan.

Other members of the seven-man task force are assistant state prosecutors Niven Canlapan and Nolibien Quiambao, government lawyers Adonis Sulit and Charles Romulus Cambaliza, and National Bureau of Investigation agents Jonathan Mengullo and Catherine Camposano.

The creation of the task force came amid the allegations of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago against the former Senate president.

“The DOJ’s move was a response to our earlier call to investigate the serious allegations of a senator against a fellow senator,” said Mamba, a former three-term congressman of Cagayan’s third district.