MANILA, Philippines — As he faced scrutiny following the arrest of his son in an anti-drug operation, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla received unexpected support from key opposition figures.
Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay, 1st District) did not join demands for the justice secretary to resign over the investigation around his son, Juanito Jose Remulla III, who was caught with nearly a kilo of high-grade marijuana.
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In a statement, Lagman, the recently-elected president of the once-ruling Liberal Party, said “there is no reason” for Remulla to resign as long as he remains true to his promise not to interfere in the case of his son.
“While we cannot choose our relatives, we can choose not to intervene on their behalf for violation of the law,” Lagman said Friday. “It is different when one covers up or denies the patent culpability of a relative or ancestor.”
Opposition lawmaker Rep. Edcel Lagman also sees no need for Sec. Remulla to resign as long as he does not interfere in his son’s case. But Lagman says Remulla family must explain why it took them two days to disclose the arrest and detention of one of their scions @PhilstarNews pic.twitter.com/TFKsl4406B
— Xave Gregorio (@XaveGregorio) October 14, 2022
Earlier that day, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the calls for Remulla to resign have “no basis,” given that the justice chief "done quite the contrary" as he vowed to recuse himself from his son’s case.
Still, Lagman said the Remulla family must explain why it took them two days to disclose the arrest and detention of one of their clan members.
In a hand-written statement from her detention cell, former Sen. Leila de Lima also lauded Remulla’s commitment to keep his hands off his son’s case.
De Lima said she “can only sympathize” with Remulla, noting that his son is “presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
“This same cardinal presumption is what should have been upheld for those who have been judged only too swiftly in the past administration's drug war, and who were not given the chance to defend themselves before the courts,” she said.
10/14/22
— Leila de Lima (@AttyLeiladeLima) October 14, 2022
As a parent, I can only sympathize with Sec. Boying Remulla in the arrest of his son. Like everyone else, whether he is the son of the Justice Secretary or not, Juanito Jose Remulla is presumed innocent until proven guilty. pic.twitter.com/aQGO6YDyTf
The former senator said she hopes that the justice system would work for Remulla’s son, for her and for “the thousand others who were condemned to death without trial during the past administration.”
“Sec. Remulla, for the sake of your son, for my sake, and the thousands killed whose families are still grieving, make justice work again in this country,” she said.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said Remulla’s statement on the arrest of his son was “sincere and self-explanatory,” but declined to give any further comments.
The president’s sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, also said the justice chief’s handwritten note is “self-evident.”
Sen. JV Ejercito, meanwhile, vouched for the character of Remulla, saying that “he will not tolerate this even if it’s his son who is involved.”
The National Unity Party, where Remulla sits as its vice chairperson, expressed support for him in a statement, calling the justice secretary a “principled man” who “will let justice take its course.”
“We are assured of the fact that as a patriotic citizen and head of the Department of Justice, he will always place the national interest above his personal ties,” the NUP said in a statement signed by its chairman, Ronaldo Puno, and its president, Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte (Camarines Sur, 2nd District).