Those who have been watching the news recently should be aware of the latest happenings regarding Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla; his son was recently arrested for receiving a shipment of high-grade marijuana from abroad.
To be sure, the case has nothing to do with the Justice secretary himself. But the case is still worth watching since it will be a good comparison between how the rich --or at least those close to power-- are treated from the poor when it comes to how justice is carried out.
We all know there are two faces of justice in this country; one for the rich and one for the poor. For the poor, justice comes swiftly and harshly; while the rich can afford to push justice back for as long as they can because they have access to lawyers who know all the dilatory tactics and excuses.
Poor suspects as displayed handcuffed and dressed in a “detainee” shirt before the media, heads down and in shame. Rich suspects are given a press conference where they sit comfortably and afforded the chance to explain their side.
The poor are easily found, sentenced, and imprisoned. While the rich --at least one famous woman anyway-- is still walking around scot-free even after she has been sentenced for graft and corruption.
We are already seeing some signs Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III is getting preferential treatment. His face was blurred as his video was shown on television, while ordinary criminals were not offered this courtesy. He was not made to undergo a drug test despite Section 38 of Republic Act 9165 which says "any person apprehended or arrested for violating the provisions of this Act shall be subjected to screening laboratory examination or test within twenty-four hours."
Secretary Remulla has already declared he will keep his hands off his son’s case, but fell short of resigning his post to make sure he will not influence how this case will go.
Because we have to be fair, we have to give Remulla the benefit of the doubt. However we should also remember that as Justice secretary, Remulla is the boss of all fiscals and vested with the power to promote, hire, or fire them. How would you feel if you had the unenviable task of prosecuting the son of your boss?
But that is already beside the point here. Let’s keep a close eye on this case and see if Juanito is treated like every Tom, Dick, and Harry when it comes to his drug case.