Calls for Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla to resign following his son’s arrest during a drug sting “has no basis,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Friday.
Mr. Marcos said that a member of his Cabinet must only step down from his or her post after acting indecorously while performing official functions.
“I think the calls for him to resign have no basis. You call for somebody to resign if he’s not doing his job or he has misbehaved in that job,” the President said in an interview after the 8th Balik-Scientist Program Convention in Pasay City.
The Justice chief’s eldest son, Juanito Jose Remulla III, was arrested on 11 October in his residence in Las Piñas City after he received a parcel from California, containing nearly a kilo of high-grade marijuana or “kush.”
News reports of the arrest only surfaced two days later, however, when the Justice Secretary was already about to return to Manila from the United Nations Human Rights Committee conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
Defending his strong ally from Cavite province, which delivered him a landslide victory in the 9 May 2022 elections, Marcos stressed that Remulla has done right to insulate himself from the issue.
“And quite the contrary, he has taken a very proper position that he is recusing himself from any involvement in the case of his son,” Marcos said.
“Being the Secretary of the Department of Justice, he’s very aware that he must allow the processes of the judiciary to work properly and that no one in the Executive should interfere,” he added.
Controlled delivery
During the “controlled delivery” operation, the younger Remulla was nabbed by authorities for receiving the P1.3 million worth of suspected illegal drugs packed in brown envelopes.
In a handwritten statement sent to reporters on 13 October, the Justice chief thanked anti-drug agents for doing their job “without fear or favor”.
He said his 38-year-old son must “face his predicament as a fully emancipated child” and vowed that he will “not intervene or influence” the drug case.
“I will let justice take its own course,” he added. “I will respect the justice system and I wish my son a path to redemption.”
The Justice secretary’s “clear” statements that he will not interfere with the investigation would allow the prosecutors a “free hand” in handling the case, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said Friday.
PDEA spokesperson Derrick Carreon said the younger Remulla is facing a case for the importation of dangerous drugs and for violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
PDEA custody
The younger Remulla is currently under PDEA’s custody in Quezon City.
The National Union Party has come out in support of Secretary Remulla as its vice chairperson, citing his professionalism.
“We also commend Secretary Remulla for promptly assuring authorities that he will not, in any way, interfere in or influence the case of his son,” NUP said in a statement on Friday.
Members of the NUP stressed that “as a patriotic citizen and head of the Department of Justice,” Remulla will always place the national interest above his personal ties.
“As a principled man, we know that Secretary Remulla will always uphold the rule of law. We know that he will let justice take its course,” the NUP said.
Independent opposition lawmaker Edcel Lagman also defended Remulla, saying there’s no reason for him to resign.
“While we cannot choose our relatives, we can choose not to intervene on their behalf for violation of the law,” Lagman, who represents the 1st district of Albay.
According to the veteran solon, Remulla, his former colleague in the lower chamber, must be held to his handwritten undertaking that he would allow justice to take its course.