DOJ junks CIDG appeal to reverse ruling on raps vs. Elago, others

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has rejected the police’s appeal to reverse the dismissal of the criminal complaint against Kabataan party-list Representative Sarah Elago and several others over the recruitment of a senior high school student into an activist group.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra's  office dismissed the appeal for its failure to follow procedural rules, according to the resolution dated June 2.

It cited the Criminal Investigation Detection Group’s (CIDG) apparent failure to serve copies of the petition for review to the respondents and the Prosecutor General.

Likewise, the DOJ also said the CIDG did not attach a copy of the assailed resolution.

“The right to appeal is neither a natural right nor part of due process. It is merely a statutory privilege and may be exercised only in accordance with the law. The party who seeks to avail of the same must comply with the requirements set forth in the law. Failing to do so, the right to appeal is lost,” the resolution stated.

Last October, Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento approved a resolution by the investigating prosecutors recommending the dismissal of charges for kidnapping and for enlisting Alicia Jasper Lucena into an armed group.

Elago, Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares, Communist Party of the Philippines founding chair Jose Maria Sison, and nine Anakbayan members were cleared of the charges due to a lack of evidence.

Alicia's mother, Relissa Lucena, and the CIDG filed a complaint in 2019 alleging that Anakbayan recruited Alicia, then a minor, against her will while she was studying at the Far Eastern University.

They alleged Alicia was recruited to eventually become a member of the CPP-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

Relissa told a Senate hearing in August 2019 that Alicia was missing, but Alicia herself said she left home on purpose. —LBG, GMA News