Aguirre asks outgoing DOJ secretary to stop issuing last-minute resolutions

Incoming Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre III on Tuesday urged outgoing Acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas to stop issuing rulings, in the wake of accusations of "midnight resolutions" at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In a text message to reporters, Aguirre said Caparas may continue issuing resolving cases until the end of his term on June 30, when President-elect Rodrigo Duterte assumes the presidency.

"However, to avoid suspicion of irregularity especially in the face of accusations from various parties, it might be advisable to refrain from further resolving pending incidents if there is no urgency or valid reasons to do so at this time," Aguirre said.

The incoming Justice secretary clarified that the halt in the issuance of ruling should be done "on a case to case basis."

"In other words, the circumstances of issuance will have to be examined," Aguirre said.

On Monday, Sen. Vicente "Tito" Sotto III expressed serious concerns over the alleged midnight resolutions, saying such rulings should not only be recalled but also investigated by the DOJ.

"Sen. Tito Sotto has his reasons why he wanted these 'midnight' resolutions recalled," said Aguirre when asked about Sotto's take on the issue.

'Last-minute reversals'

Last week, the Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment (FATE) claimed to have stumbled on alleged last-minute reversals of decisions made by Caparas allegedly in exchange for money.

FATE said Caparas was "meddling" in cases pending with the DOJ by rewriting and reversing resolutions that had already been issued, in order to favor certain parties.

The group said Caparas had instructed DOJ undersecretaries and prosecutors to stop issuing decisions by June 3 and go on forced leaves so he could rewrite them himself.

FATE alleged that the rewritten rulings were being "antedated" and being sold for "millions of pesos."

Caparas has repeatedly denied the accusation and challenged the group to come out with evidence.

Several individuals later came out claiming to have been victims of the so-called last-minute case reversals at the DOJ.

FATE spokesperson Jo Perez earlier said two of the alleged victims of the "resolution for sale" who approached her group were Imra-ali Sabdullah, an employee of the Bureau of Immigration whose promotion was scrapped by the DOJ, and one Dong Batalan who filed a case against a billionaire that is still pending with the DOJ. — NB/RSJ, GMA News