President Marcos said there was no basis for the calls for Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to resign from his post after his son was arrested for his alleged involvement in kush importation.
Marcos said this after Remulla's son, Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III, was arrested by members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for possession of about one kilo of kush or high-grade marijuana in Las Piñas City on Tuesday, October 11.
In an interview with reporters in Pasay City, the President came to the defense of his Justice Secretary and said one should only resign if they were not doing their job.
"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 that they have misbehaved in that job," he said.
"He has not done any of that," he added.
Marcos even praised Remulla for taking no stand on the issue.
"Quite the contrary, he has taken the very proper position that he is recusing himself from any involvement in the case of his son," he said.
"I think that 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.
In a handwritten statement, Remulla vowed that he would neither intervene in his son's case. He said he "will let justice take its own course."
He said his son was a grown man who should now take care of his problems.
"We all know about unconditional love, but at 38 years old, he will have to face his predicament as a fully emancipated child. I have to abide by the oath of office I took when I assumed this position," Remulla wrote.
Meanwhile, a July 2019 interview of Remulla with CNN Philippines resurfaced after his son's case went public. Netizens pointed out that the former House senior deputy majority leader was pro-death penalty for drug-related crimes.
In the said interview, Remulla told broadcaster Pinky Webb that he was for the death penalty for crimes related to drugs, kidnapping with random, and plunder.
Pinky Webb: So, pro-death penalty kayo for what, to be clear, Congressman Boying? On what crimes?
Boying Remulla: Uh, drugs...
Source: The Source/CNN PH pic.twitter.com/ic72XcLqTU
— Ralph R. Sarza (@walphs) October 13, 2022