Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla on Wednesday, Feb. 8, said the Department of Justice (DOJ) will ask the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to investigate lawyers involved in filing “contrived” charges against fugitive foreigners to stop their deportation.
The issue on “contrived” charges surfaced as Remulla accused some lawyers of filing charges against fugitive Japanese nationals in the custody of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to prevent their deportation.
Foreigners with cases filed in courts cannot be deported until the cases are resolved.
“I have assigned some of my staff to write the Integrated Bar of the Philippines because all the disciplinary proceedings start with the IBP,” Remulla told journalists covering the DOJ.
“So, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines will now conduct its own investigation as to the practice of delaying cases even to contrived cases that should not happen anymore,” he explained.
Thereafter, he said, the findings and recommendations of the IBP would be forwarded to the Supreme Court (SC) which has the power to discipline lawyers.
Specifically, Remulla cited the cases of four Japanese nationals who were in BI custody and who had been charged in various courts in the country. The erstwhile pendency of the court cases had prevented their immediate deportation.
But with the dismissal of their cases, two of them -- Imamura Kiyoto and Fujita Toshiya -- were deported to Japan last Tuesday, Feb. 7.
The two others -- Tomonobu Saito and Yuki Watanabe – are set for deportation tonight, Feb. 8.
The DOJ said the four Japanese nationals had been “identified by Japanese police to be the leaders of a criminal organization in their home country and have been charged with robbery and theft” and are “considered fugitives from justice.” It also said the Japanese government had sought their deportation.
TAGS: #DOJ #BI #’Contrived’ charges #Japanese fugitives #Sec. Remulla