Santiago tags complaint vs. him, SOJ Remulla as 'harassment'

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago on Wednesday dubbed the arbitrary detention complaint filed against him and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla as ‘harassment.'

“Kung meron man, may arbitrary detention, ako at ang aking agent. Walang kinalaman si [secretary of justice]. Pero they really want SOJ na hindi magkaroon ng clearance from the Ombudsman,” Santiago said at a briefing.

(If there is arbitrary detention, it would be me and my agent. The Secretary of Justice has nothing to do with it. But they really want SOJ to not have a clearance from the Ombudsman.)

“Talagang ‘yun ang pakay nila, harangin ang appointment ng ating secretary of justice,” he added.

(Their real aim is to block the appointment of our secretary of justice.)

This is after lawyer Ferdinand Topacio filed a complaint against Remulla and Santiago with the Office of the Ombudsman over the arrest and detention of Sheila Guo and Cassandra Li Ong in August 2024.

The two were about to depart Batam, Indonesia when they were intercepted by authorities during the height of the investigation into Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators. 

Santiago questioned why the complaint was only filed recently.

“Bakit ngayon naisip ni Ferdie, ni Atty. Topacio, bakit ngayon lang niya ko naisip kasuhan? Ang tagal-tagal nang issue ‘yan. At when I filed my resignation, unang-una siya bumabati na magaling ako, mahusay ako, parehas akong judge, parehas akong director… hindi nagtutugma ah,” he said. 

(Why is it only now that Ferdie, Atty. Topacio, thought of filing a case against me? That issue has been around for a long time. And when I filed my resignation, he was the first to commend me, saying I was good, competent, a fair judge, a fair director… it doesn’t add up.)

The NBI chief also argued that they had warrants for Guo and Ong. 

Meanwhile, Topacio said he was told that his complaint has yet to be docketed as it is “undergoing evaluation.”

Topacio said this is a violation of an Ombudsman circular that states that all complaints shall automatically be assigned docketing numbers. His camp has asked the Ombudsman to assign the complaint docket numbers. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News