Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Sunday assured the public that the drug complaint filed against his eldest son, Juanito Jose Diaz III, would not reach his desk for review.
Remulla stressed that as Justice secretary, he has the power to review resolutions issued by state prosecutors.
However, in an online interview, Remulla said he is confident the case will not reach his desk.
“I think it will not reach that point. The lawyer of my son knows what to do, that it should not reach me. Face it in court, do not allow the case to reach me. Do not dribble it to the DOJ,” the DOJ chief said.
He said his son has tapped the services of his cousin-lawyer as his legal counsel in the case.
“My cousin knows me to be assertive. That will be resolved in the court,” he said.
Remulla said the filing of the case against his son is an example that the country’s justice system is working.
“It is the best example of the justice system working. The son of the DOJ secretary has a case and is in jail,” he said.
Remulla reiterated his promise not to use his power nor influence to help his son.
“I have nothing to do with it and I never tolerate cases involving drugs,” he added.
The Las Piñas City prosecutor’s office on Friday indicted Remulla for violation of Section 11 of RA 9165, illegal possession of drugs, and recommended no bail.
The prosecutor’s office recommended no bail for the younger Remulla’s case.
The younger Remulla was found carrying over a kilogram of kush, or high-grade marijuana, worth an estimated P1.3 million.
Meanwhile, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Sunday urged the United States Customs and Border Protection to further tighten its control over illegal substances that may elude detection and consequently find their way into countries outside its jurisdiction, such as the Philippines.
Barbers, chairperson of the House committee on dangerous drugs, referred to the arrest of Remulla’s son, who is being charged over the importation of illegal drugs from the United States.
“Is the US Customs and Border Protection allowing exportation to countries like the Philippines of this (marijuana) illegal contraband?
That is the question that must be answered,” he said.
“We ask the US government to institute measures that will strengthen its control over what comes out of its jurisdiction. There might have been some flaws that happened at the US Customs and Border Protection,” he said.
Remulla III was arrested for supposedly receiving parcels containing over almost a kilo worth of high-grade marijuana, shipped from a certain Benjamin Huffman of 1524 Hornblend Street in San Diego, California.
“We must remain vigilant here in the Philippines. As drug traffickers are being creative in ways to distribute illegal drugs, so must we respond with equal or more fervor in frustrating all their efforts for the sake of Filipino citizens here,” Barbers said.
