The issues surrounding the controversial Anti-Terror Law of 2020 were brought to the fore once again as the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday started hearing oral arguments concerning it. One of the main concerns was the reported vagueness of the law, which gives authorities a wider scope on how to interpret it.
But for Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra, the issue of vagueness concerning the law has already been resolved.
"Ambiguity in the law itself... given remedy by the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) that was crafted by inter-agency group led by the DOJ," he said during the Laging Handa public briefing on Friday.
"We are hoping that with the IRR, the vagueness in the provisions of the law have been somehow remedied. We will leave it to the SC to resolve if the alleged vagueness has actually been remedied by the IRR."
As to the facial challenge of the Anti-Terror Law, Guevarra explained that it means "on the face of the law itself." So the invalidity or unconstitutionality of a case can already be determined on its face. "The situation is you don't normally go to court unless there is an actual controversy ," he said.
With a facial challenge, a plaintiff can argue that a statute is unconstitutional at all times and under all circumstances.
Guevarra said there is only one situation where there is no breach or there is no violation and yet petitioners can file before the court - the petition for declatory relief. "But these are not the petitions before the Supreme Court," he said.
He stressed that the petitions before the SC are original petitions for certiorari and prohibition which invoke grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.
"So this facial challenge, iyon ang (these are the ) allegations of petitioners that on the very face of the law itself makikita naman na may (they can see that there is something) invalid or unconstitutional in the provisions. So let's see how the SC will look at that contention," he said.
Guevarra noted that interesting issues were raised by the SC during its oral arguments, which inevitably led to "fireworks."
During the same briefing, Guevarra also tackled a wide range of issues - from the University of the Philippines (UP) and Department of National Defense (DND) accord, the anti-drug war review panel, and Christine Dacera case, among many other things.
Guevarra refused to comment on the UP-DND accord because of the "unique" position of the DOJ should the matter be brought to them for investigation.
However, Guevarra offered comments on his department's drug war review, which he promised to share with the public in due time.
"Be assured that these reports, at least the findings and highlights of these reports will be made public at a proper time," he said.
As of now, the DOJ is taking actions on its findings and is already waiting for the Philippine National Police (PNP) to comment on their "not-so-flattering" findings against certain enforcement officers.
Guevarra begged for understanding as to why they cannot publicize their findings now as they are continuing their investigations in Visayas and Mindanao.
"We do not want to make it appear na yung findings naming (that our findings) in certain pilot areas, like Region 3 and Region 4 and certain major cities are truly representative of what is happening in the country," he explained.
Christine Dacera case
Meanwhile, Guevarra said that he has tasked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct an investigation on the case of Dacera. According to NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin, they are already winding up their investigation.
As far as Guevarra knows, they are already done with their forensic examination and they likewise have their toxicology report. Despite these strides, Guevarra is cautioning them to be "as thorough as possible."
Because of this, they are tracking down witnesses who were not yet able to testify, such as the embalmer of Dacera's body. They are also looking for mobile phones that will be subjected to forensic examination.
In the event that the NBI and the PNP investigations will yield different results, Guevarra said the investigating prosecutor will likely call for a clarificatory hearing.
Investigating a possible cartel
Guevarra also tackled the issue of a possible cartel manipulating the sudden spike in the price of basic food commodities, such as pork.
For now, the Secretary of Justice has directed the NBI to start preparing for a sub-task group that will look into the alleged manipulation of supply and pricing of basic good stuff.
Should there indeed be a cartel, Guevarra said "there is a very strong possibility manipulate the supply and consequently the pricing of basic food stuff."
"So we'll get into that investigation very soon," he said.
PhilHealth cases
The NBI has filed at least eight cases before the Office of the Ombudsman and the DOJ against officials of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
Two of these cases involve the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM). In the National Capital Region (NCR), the amount involved was P2.7 billion, while another case affecting private company Braun Avitum involved P33 million.
One of the cases filed before the Ombudsman involved fraudulent claims in Cebu involving a private hospital - Perpetual Succor Hospital. The ones before the DOJ pertain to anomalies in PhilHealth filed at the prosecutors' offices in Manila, Tagum, Koronadal, Zamboanga, and Tuguegarao. Guevarra said this even included the WellMed accreditation case.
Guevarra added that investigations are ongoing for these cases, and they are now focusing on the legal sector and the information technology sector of PhilHealth.
"With NBI Director Dante Gierran at the helm of PhilHealth, we hope that we will be able to gather evidence more easily considering that the new president came from the NBI before," he said.