After junking of raps vs. Koko, Guevarra says DOJ committed to administer justice fairly

After the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed criminal complaints against Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, Secretary Menardo Guevarra told the public that his agency is committed to the fair administration of justice.

Guevarra, however, declined to comment on the outcome of Pimentel's case, saying it may still be appealed before his office.

"But I would like to assure the people that the DOJ is committed to administer our criminal justice system as fairly and equitably as possible," he said.

Pimentel was accused of violating the law on the mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases when he went to the Makati Medical Center in March last year during his supposed quarantine for a then-suspected COVID-19 infection.

Amid criticism, he said he only learned that he was COVID-19-positive when he was already at the hospital. He said he left immediately.

Critics pointed out a seeming double standard when Pimentel was not apprehended for his action, unlike the poor and uninfluential quarantine violators who had been arrested by police since the lockdown started last year.

Guevarra referenced these arrests and said many of those caught were eventually released.

"Please note that a large number of people apprehended by law enforcement officers during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic due to various quarantine violations were subsequently released and their cases dismissed by DOJ inquest prosecutors," he said.

Asked about claims that the DOJ is "biased," Guevarra said: "Wala akong magagawa kung may nag-iisip ng ganoon."

When a complaint was filed against Pimentel last year, the secretary promised a fair investigation.

The prosecutor's resolution dismissing the complaint said Pimentel is "not a public health authority" and was thus "not obliged to report" under the mandatory reporting provision of Republic Act No. 11332.

But assuming that he had to report his medical condition as a private individual, prosecutors said "there was nothing to report" at the time he went to the Makati Medical Center and the S&R at Bonifacio Global City on March 24 and March 16, 2020, respectively.

The DOJ said Pimentel only knew he had COVID-19 when he was already at the hospital, adding that he was considered to have "cooperated" with authorities when he left as soon as he learned of his test result.

It added that the complaint itself, filed by lawyer Rico Quicho, was "fatally defective." -MDM, GMA News