MANILA - Calls for Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla to resign after his son was arrested with over P1 million worth of marijuana "has no basis," as he knows his boundaries as a government official, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said on Friday.

• DOJ chief Remulla's eldest son arrested in drug op

Marcos said one could only ask an official to step down from their post if "he’s not doing his job or that they have misbehaved in that job."

"He has not done... he has done quite the contrary. He has taken the very proper position that he is recusing himself from any involvement in the case of his son," the President told reporters in a chance interview.

"I think that being the Secretary of Department of Justice, he’s very aware that he must allow the processes of the judiciary to work properly and that no one in the executive should interfere," he added.

Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III, the eldest son of the Justice secretary, was nabbed by law enforcement authorities Tuesday in Las Pinas City for alleged possession of suspected kush worth around P1.3 million.

Secretary Remulla said he is grateful to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for doing its job "without fear or favor".

"I have to abide by the Oath of Office I took when I assumed this position," he said.

MORE REJECT REMULLA QUIT CALLS

Opposition lawmaker and Albay First District Rep. Edcel Lagman joined those who reject calls for Remulla to step down.

Lagman said as long as Remulla does not interfere in the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of his son's case, "there is no reason for him to resign on account of his son’s offense."

But the lawmaker wanted Remulla to put his recusal from the case in writing.

"While we cannot choose our relatives, we can choose not to intervene on their behalf for violation of the law. Secretary Remulla must be held to his handwritten undertaking that he would allow justice to take its course," Lagman said in a statement.

Former Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon also agreed with Marcos and Lagman's sentiments.

"Delicadeza? He has not done anything," said Drilon, a former justice secretary.

But he said that the moment when there is any perception of Remulla interfering with the case, "he does not deserve to sit in the position one minute longer."

"People would be watching him. In this day and age with social media, you cannot hide anything," Drilon added.

— With a report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

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