The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) assured the public on Thursday, Oct. 20, that there will be no special treatment for the son of Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’’ Remulla.
Remulla's son Juanito Jose was collared during a controlled delivery operation of an imported high-grade marijuana weighing over one kilo.
PDEA Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva issued the statement over criticisms that it took a while before the PDEA released a statement on its operation against Remulla's son as compared with other arrested suspects in controlled delivery operation.
PDEA is also being criticized for alleged double standard when it released a blurred photo of Remulla.
“We adopted a set of protocols in March this year, measures that would better align our anti-drug operations with the spirit of Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012,’’ said Villanueva.
He said that these measures include a prohibition on the parading of arrested drug suspects during press conferences with the media after a successful anti-drug operation.
He noted that this practice was common to all law enforcement units in the past and was banned by PDEA after determining that the practice violated the constitutional rights of the accused, particularly the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven.
The PDEA chief pointed out that another discontinued practice is the publication, online or otherwise, of the pictures or images of arrested suspects, particularly mugshots of the individual.
He maintained that the pictures provided to the media which contain images of the suspect must have the individual’s face obscured or blurred, similar to what is practiced for pictures containing the faces of law enforcement agents.
“We understand that the public has a right to have access to information on matters related to public order and safety. Our Public Information Office makes sure that our media partners have access to timely information on everything related to drug law enforcement. But we also put an equal importance on human rights, on due process, and we hope the public understands this difficult but necessary balancing act”, he added.
On Oct. 17, House Deputy Minority leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro claimed the supposed “special treatment” given to the younger Remulla in the way the case was handled by authorities.
She insisted that Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III was still given special treatment even as his father, the DOJ secretary vowed not to intervene in nor influence in his son’s case.
Castro questioned the delayed public announcement of Juanito’s arrest by PDEA saying “this started with the almost two day delay of publicizing the arrest of Juanito Remulla’s arrest in Las Piñas City. His father who was in Geneva was even among the first to know about the arrest as she questioned what transpired during the almost two day delay in the report.
The opposition lawmaker also questioned the “blurring“ of Juanito’s mugshots that the PDEA released to the media.
Juanito is facing criminal charges after he was arrested for supposedly claiming P1.3 million worth of “kush,” or high-grade marijuana, in a controlled delivery operation in Las Piñas City last week.
He was indicted before the Las Piñas City Prosecutor’s Office which recommended no bail for his temporary liberty. (Chito A. Chavez)