Following the arrest of Juanito Jose Remulla III, the Makabayan bloc wants to know how the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and other law enforcement agencies handle suspects and detainees.
Remulla III is the 38-year-old son of Department of Justice (DOJ) Sec. Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla. He was arrested last Oct. 11, in a Las Pinas drug raid.
“Respect for human rights of suspects should be the norm and there should be no special treatment for entitled ones. If the kind of treatment accorded to Juanito Remulla is also applied to other suspects then there would be no problem. But that is not the case, more often than not they are already paraded to media before being hauled to jail or worse, killed," said ACT-Teachers Rep. Castro on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
She previously pointed out double standards in the treatment of Remulla III versus other drug suspects.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2022/10/14/double-standard-makabayan-solon-sounds-off-on-arrest-of-remullas-son/
Thus, Castro. Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel filed House Resolution (HR) 488 which calls for an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the PNP’s, PDEA’s, and other law enforcement agencies procedures into the treatment of suspects.
“Several indications of special treatment were revealed in several reports on the case: Authorities immediately informed his father Secretary Remulla, who was then abroad, of the arrest, while it was publicized after almost two days. Among the information released to the public were blurred mug shots of the younger Remulla,” they wrote in HR 488.
“Remulla was also apparently protected from taking the drug test required in certain cases under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, as amended, after his lawyer “immediately intervened” and upon the insistence of PDEA that the drug test is ‘not material’ to the case, as alleged by the agency’s spokesperson. A positive result would have added a charge of and penalty for illegal drug use against Remulla,” the resolution read.
They point out in their resolution that other detainees such as drug suspects, activists, and alleged members or leaders of communist groups, do not receive the same treatment. Instead, they are subject to being paraded in media firing lines, having their mugshots published, rough handled, and sometimes susceptible to extrajudicial killing.
“While such violations are made more glaring with the arrest of Remulla III, they are cited not to imply that he should also be made to suffer the same treatment. Rather, these violations against suspects, arrestees, and detainees who are ordinary citizens must be seen as indications of the dearth of operational standards in the treatment of all persons regardless of their economic or political status, as well as lack of accountability for violations thereof,” they clarified.
“There exists a glaring need to review both standards and actual practice in the treatment of all suspects, arrestees, and detainees to prevent discrimination, and for the protection of their rights, while ensuring the proper administration of justice,” HR 488 ended.