A Las Piñas court today acquitted Juanito Jose Remulla III, the son of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, on the charges of illegal drug possession.
Remulla’s son still faces separate complaints for illegal drug importation and the violation of customs law before the Pasay City prosecutor’s office.
Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III was caught by authorities in October after two packets of suspected kush worth PHP1.3 million (US$22,058) were seized from him. The kush allegedly came from abroad.
The hashtag #BoyingRemullaResign trended on social media shortly after the justice secretary posted a handwritten note following his son’s arrest, promising he would not intervene in the authorities’ investigation. In the note, he wrote that his 38-year-old son would have to “face his predicament as a fully emancipated child” and wished him “a path of redemption.”
His letter did not quell the sentiments of some Filipinos who called for Remulla to resign as a matter of delicadeza (courtesy) over his son’s arrest.
Remulla, a former Cavite governor, has sparked controversy for being a notorious red-tagger (a term for one who accuses others of communism), and ironically, one of strongest defenders of the Philippines’ ongoing drug war policy in the current administration. He also came under fire during the May elections’ campaign period for claiming without basis that those who attended former Vice President Leni Robredo’s sortie in his home province were paid and were communists.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said in February last year that over 6,200 drug suspects were killed in Rodrigo Duterte administration’s war on drugs. Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in September that his government “cannot stop the drug war.”
This is a developing story.
