Lawyer accuses SOJ, NBI of misleading Degamo slay suspect’s family

MANILA — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Wednesday said he is filing a complaint with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) against a former lawyer of some of the accused in the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, supposedly for “trifling with the judicial process.”

The lawyer, Danny Villanueva, has rejected the move as “harassment.”

The issue stemmed from Villanueva’s filing of a habeas corpus petition with the Manila regional trial court, which sought to compel authorities to release the wife, stepson and son of his then-client, Jhudiel Rivero, alias Osmundo Rivero, one of the suspects in the Degamo slay.

A petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus is a remedy against illegal confinement or detention, and directs a public official to produce a person in court and show valid reasons for his or her detention.

“Sinabi niya magfa-file siya ng habeas corpus. Noong finile, hindi siya nakapirma. Pinapirma niya itong si Rivero. Mr. Rivero pinapirma niya kasi ayaw niyang ma-attribute sa kaniya 'yung petition pero ginawa niya 'yung petition,” Remulla said.

“Siya ang personally nag-file, pero nakapirma si Mr. Rivero. So apparently, counsel talaga siya ni Mr. Rivero. 'Pag ginawa mo 'yun, ibig sabihin, umiiwas lang siya na siya’y masabihan na alam niya na balewala 'yung kaso kasi na-release na 'yung tao e. So nagpa-set siya sa court ng hearing kahit na, wala nang mangyayari. So you’re trifling with the court e, you’re trifling with the process,” he explained.

Remulla claimed Villanueva’s move wasted the time of both the court and the Department of Justice, which had to respond to the petition.

Remulla signed the letter-complaint addressed to IBP President Burt Estrada on Wednesday, just before leaving for Bacolod for a regional convention of prosecutors in Region VI.

He said the letter would be sent to the IBP that afternoon.

“I’m just telling you that I’m not threatening anybody. I just did it. I just signed the letter because I said I was going to do it and it has to be done so that lawyers will not trifle with the judicial processes or the processes of the DOJ in preliminary investigation. 'Di na pwede 'yan. The time is over. We will not allow them to do that,” he said.

VILLANUEVA RESPONDS

In a statement, Villanueva told the media that Remulla’s complaint was “harassment, plain and simple.”

He explained that before filing the petition, he made a public appeal to Remulla to release Rivero’s family but since they were not released, he assisted Rivero in filing the petition.

“The filing of petition is a right enshrined in the Constitution. To avail and exercise said right is certainly not trifling with judicial process,” he said.

Instead, Villanueva turned the tables on the Justice chief.

“What is seriously wrong is the action of NBI, upon instructions of SOJ, to arbitrarily arrest and detain innocent individuals upon the pretext that they requested to be placed under WPP (Witness Protection Program),” he said.

“We have the sworn statements of Rivero’s family that they did not freely go with the NBI but that they were misled into believing that Jhudiel requested NBI to take custody of his family,” he claimed.

Villanueva has not provided a copy of the sworn statements to the media.

But he clarified that he was no longer representing Rivero and the other accused in the Degamo killing, citing “health and personal security reasons.”

"[I have] been receiving hate calls, unsigned threat and I have to focus on defending myself from retaliatory measures taken by DOJ against me,” he said in a text message to ABS-CBN News.

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NEW LAWYERS

On Tuesday night, lawyers Florian Banabana and John Harold Montalbo from the Baclig & Associates law firm identified themselves as the lawyers of the Degamo slay suspects.

They issued a statement questioning the DOJ and the NBI’s move to bring 10 of the 11 accused under NBI custody to the DOJ on Tuesday morning to attend the probe into the involvement of alleged mastermind Rep. Arnolfo Teves, Jr. in the killing of Degamo, allegedly without their knowledge.

“We were not informed by NBI that our clients will be brought [out] of the jail for the said purpose. We learned also that the court does not know of the said action by the NBI,” they said.

The 10 suspects, who are already facing murder charges in court, were supposed to affirm their affidavits of recantation but did not have their own lawyers. Instead, they were represented by lawyers from the Public Attorney’s Office.

But Remulla said DOJ prosecutors have no obligation to inform the supposed lawyers of the suspects who have not entered their appearance for a particular complaint.

“Talagang ang inyong i-inform dyan ay 'yung accused talaga. That is what the law says.

"So how will they know? Mag-enter sila ng appearance kung gusto nila, na talagang sila yung lawyer," he said.

“Pero mind you, if you enter an appearance there, or if you really want to represent the person, make sure that the person will come out and surrender to the jurisdiction of the court,” he said.

The Justice secretary also defended the PAO lawyers’ representation of the accused.

“Na-uphold ng Supreme Court 'yan, 'yung mga string of cases where PAO representation has always been upheld by the Supreme Court in these cases. Kaya they were… it already satisfies the requirement of the law for a person to have counsel at any stage of the proceeding,” he explained.

Among those who have not yet entered their appearance as counsel is Teves’ lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, who insisted Tuesday that neither he nor his client were properly informed about the probe.

Remulla said the prosecutors’ duty under the rules is to send the subpoena to a respondent’s last known address. Prosecutors sent the subpoena to Teves’ residence in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental and his office at the House of Representatives.

Teves and his co-respondents in the murder complaint have until June 27 to submit their counteraffidavits.

Aside from Teves, 5 other respondents are facing murder raps over the killing of Degamo and 9 others on March 4 at the Degamo compound in Pamplona, Negros Oriental.

This is aside from the 11 accused who are already facing murder charges in court over the same incident.

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