DOJ: Guevarra had no hand in Okada resolution

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said on Friday that allegations of a supposed conflict of interest in the filing of charges against Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada are “totally unfounded.”

“Its resolution in the Okada case was arrived at by the prosecutor handling the case without the intervention or influence of the secretary,” Perete, who also serves as the department’s spokesperson, said in a statement.

On December 7, state prosecutors found probable cause to charge Okada of three counts of estafa over his acquisition, during his stint as chief executive of Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc., “through mistake or fraud” of $3.15 million in salary and consultancy fees.

The DOJ reversed the ruling of a Parañaque Office of the City Prosecutor that junked the complaints against Okada.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by TRLEI.

National Prosecution Service an independent office

Perete said: “Foremost, the [National Prosecution Service] is an office independent from the Office of the Secretary of Justice. Its resolution in the Okada case was arrived at by the prosecutor handling the case without the intervention or influence of the secretary.”

Perete added that when the case reached the DOJ in May this year, Guevarra immediately informed them that his son was working in TRLEI in a associate director position in 2017.

Guevarra took the helm of the DOJ in April 2018.

“The meeting took place at the Department of Justice on June 27, 2018 with the counsels for both Okada and Tiger in attendance,” Perete added.

In the said meeting, the Justice secretary assured the counsels of both parties that his son’s engagement in the complainant’s company “would have no bearing in the resolution of their cases, and that these cases will be resolved with utmost impartiality.”

Perete noted that the resolution may still be elevated to the Office of the Justice Secretary for appeal, and said that Guevarra would request his son to tender his resignation from TLREI. This was to “dispel speculations against his ability to resolve the case with utmost objectivity and impartiality.”

Perete also said that should Guevarra’s son do not find any reason to cut his ties with TLREI, the justice chief would “completely inhibit from resolving these cases should the same be appealed to his Office. He may likewise consider—as any father would—tendering his resignation as Secretary of Justice.”