DOJ: Up to NBI to decide next step in Vico Sotto issue

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Thursday he is leaving it to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to determine how to proceed with its invitation to Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto over an alleged violation of quarantine directives by the national government.

"The DOJ (Department of Justice) will monitor and provide such guidance as may be requested," Guevarra said in a message to reporters.

The NBI on Wednesday served Sotto a letter asking him to explain his side on an alleged violation of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act for the "continued tricycle operation" in Pasig City.

Sotto said he has complied with the national policy. He initially allowed tricycles to operate in the city despite the Luzon-wide public transportation ban but eventually heeded national authorities who said he should explore other alternatives for ferrying frontliners to their workplaces.

The mayor also pointed out that the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act was enacted after the tricycle issue.

Guevarra said penal provisions of any law cannot be applied retroactively unless the offense involved is a continuing crime and its commission has not been stopped.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has backed Sotto, saying the mayor has complied with the agency's orders.

"The mayor of Pasig was already cooperative," Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said. "No issue in so far as the DILG is concerned now."

Malaya said the NBI's act of summoning the mayor is a "useless political distraction" amid the COVID-19 crisis. — RSJ, GMA News