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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Public officials should be the first ones to follow the rule of law' -- DOJ

'Public officials should be the first ones to follow the rule of law' -- DOJ

Published Dec 12, 2024 08:14 am

“Public officials should be the first ones to follow the rule of law.”

This was stressed by Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes T. Andres in response to the failure of Vice President Sara Duterte to appear before the National Bureau Investigation (NBI) which is investigating the publicly aired threats she hurled against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“We believe that public officials should be the first ones to uphold the rule of law and the rule of law is subjecting yourself to the processes that are outlined in our laws,” said Andres.

He explained “being part of the process of investigation is an affirmation that we believe in the rule of law.”

Last Dec. 11, Duterte snubbed the subpoena of the NBI and as well as failed to submit a sworn statement or affidavit concerning allegations that she committed grave threats under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and for violating Section 6 of Republic Act (RA) 10175, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

“Ang natanggap lang namin ay isang sulat mula sa abogado na nagsasabi na hindi daw makapagbibigay ng tamang hustisya ang Department of Justice dahil po kami ay under ng Office of the President (What the NBI received is a letter from her lawyer claiming she can’t get justice because the agency is under the Office of the President),” said Andres.

 “Hindi po tama ‘yun dahil po ang Department of Justice at ang mga korte at ang mga law enforcement agents ay institusyon po sa ating demokrasya. Hindi po tayo nagpapadikta kahit kanino at wala naman po pagdidikta (That’s not right because the DOJ, the courts and the law enforcement agents are institutions of our democracy. They are not being dictated),” he assured.

Should the NBI file a complaint before the DOJ against Duterte, Andres advised the Vice President to submit herself to due process and file a counter-affidavit.

“Kapag s’ya po ay pumasok sa preliminary investigation kailangan po ang kanyang mga salaysay ay sinumpaang salaysay (Once there’s a preliminary investigation, what she should submit is a sworn statement or counter-affidavit) so that the statements would be accountable because any statement given under oath which is false is punishable also for perjury and other criminal offenses,” he explained. 

 

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