DOJ probes fiscal for junking case vs ‘assassin’

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed yesterday she is investigating the circumstances behind the dismissal of charges by the Pasay City prosecutor’s office against a Chinese man police had tagged as an “assassin” for a crime syndicate.

“I am looking into it,” she told The STAR in a text message, referring to the Jan. 6 minute resolution of Assistant City Prosecutor Josefina Muego ordering the release of suspect Jerry Sy from police custody.

De Lima said she has instructed Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, head of the National Prosecution Service of the Department of Justice (DOJ), to order the Pasay City prosecutor to answer the protest of the Pasay City police.

“The office of the city prosecutor submitted to me (Monday) a memo-report explaining their disposition of the cases against Jerry Sy. I am now evaluating it,” she bared.

At the same time, De Lima advised the arresting police officers to appeal the resolution before the DOJ if they really believed that Muego erred in dismissing the charges of illegal possession of guns and explosives.

In the assailed resolution, Muego ordered the Pasay City police to release Sy after she questioned the manner by which the responding police officers from the Police Community Precinct 8 (PCP-8) discovered the cache of guns and explosives in Sy’s car, which was parked at the VIP parking area of the Resorts World Manila casino.

Police officers responded to a call about an altercation at the parking area. They said they caught Sy alleged about to stab Joseph Ang, a casino financier. Ang refused to file charges against Sy.

Muego said the police officers arrested Sy on Dec. 26, 2013 after witnessing two magazines drop from his person. “Neither was there a crime committed or being committed when two magazine assemblies dropped from Sy. The police assumed immediately that Jerry Sy is not licensed to possess ammunition,” the resolution read.

She said the police officers arrested Sy “without proper determination of the respondent’s capacity to own or possess it. In fact, there is no certification from the proper government agency that Jerry Sy is not licensed to own or possess any firearms or ammunition.”

Aside from several guns, some with silen-cers, the police officers also found boxes of bullets, fragmentation grenades, gloves, a stun gun, a hatchet, various knives, a smoke grenade and metal spikes in the car Sy was driving, police had alleged.