Remulla downplays bribery issue in Degamo’s slay

MANILA, Philippines — The claim that high-ranking officials of the Department of Justice (DOJ) are trying to bribe a suspect in the killing of then governor Roel Degamo to implicate suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. as mastermind is trash, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said yesterday.

“He should just come home and explain before the court or before the DOJ. Not with me. Just face the music. He says too many things. If he’s brave enough, just go home,” Remulla told reporters.

Remulla was responding to the statement of Teves’ lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, who said “intelligence reports” they have received showed that “high-ranking” DOJ officials “offered a huge amount of money – running into the tens of millions of pesos” – to Marvin Miranda, the former reservist who allegedly served as ringleader of the commando-style attack that killed Degamo and nine others.

Topacio also pointed out that Miranda is the so-called last card of the DOJ, which is why they are “moving heaven and earth and using all the resources at their disposal in order to fabricate evidence against Teves.”

“That’s baloney. Trash,” the justice secretary said.

“They’re trifling with the judicial process. They should respect the law. This is not any social media controversy. This is not a joke. We can’t trivialize this,” he added.