DOJ to handle cases related to Isko Moreno's arrest

Manila prosecutors will inhibit from the case involving the arrest of Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno due to alleged illegal gambling. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who ordered the transfer of the case to the Department of Justice (DOJ), said prosecutors will inhibit "due to the volatility of the controversies involved." "We want our local prosecutors to be shielded from extreme pressure and partisan influences," De Lima said Tuesday. Moreno and five city councilors — Ernesto Isip Jr., Joel Chua, Ma. Asuncion Fugoso, Yul Servo Nieto, and former councilor Manuel Zarcal — were arrested Saturday for allegedly running a bingo game. Currently, no case is pending related to Moreno's arrest or the scuffle that resulted from it, since Moreno and the others were released the next day "pending further investigation." Moreno, meanwhile, has yet to file charges against the police officers who allegedly hurt him during the arrest. During the arrest, Moreno, a former actor, said he and his companions were hurt, with one of them even strangled by the police from the Manila Police District. Moreno (Francisco Domagoso in real life) is the running-mate of former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada, who is challenging re-electionist Mayor Alfredo Lim in the May elections. — Mark D. Merueñas/KBK, GMA News