MANILA – The opposition Liberal Party (LP) blasted the Duterte administration over what it called “selective” and “fake” justice.
Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada, vice president for external affairs of the LP, cited the indictment of Janet Lim Napoles before the United States (US) Justice department and the dismissal of Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang.
Napoles was accused of funneling government funds worth $20 million to the US. Carandang, on one hand, led the investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte and his family’s alleged unexplained wealth worth billions of pesos.
“This is a tale of two kinds of justice,” said Tañada. “On one hand, a foreign country went after the accused swiftly. On the other, it is the suspects going after the investigators.”
Tañada also questioned the “many forms of swift political persecution” under the Duterte administration.
“Thousands [are] killed in a ruthless and bloody war against drugs. Fishermen [are] not allowed to fish in our waters. Local officials [are] being assassinated. Workers [are] being violently dispersed while exercising their rights to protest,” he enumerated, adding, “Yet cronies are allowed leeway and while they were initially dismissed from their positions, they are also easily reassigned to assume some other position of power.”
The LP official also slammed the administration’s failure to hold some individuals accountable for the illegal drug smuggling at the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
“Until now, there are no answers in the BOC multibillion drug smuggling scandal. These, among many others, indicate misguided priorities in this administration,” Tañada said.
Tañada called on the Department of Justice to expedite investigations into the pork barrel scam and urged the Office of the Ombudsman to “delve deeper” into Carandang’s dismissal.
“Lastly, we call on our people to be vigilant in the face of selective justice. Impunity has no place in our democracy,” he added./PN
