‘Personal sentiment,’ Panelo says of Locsin’s criticism on Satur’s arrest

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. was merely being a supportive friend towards former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo when he criticized his recent arrest on child abuse complaints, Malacañang said Friday.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo maintained that Locsin's personal sentiment towards his former colleague in the House of Representatives was his own and does not reflect the administration's position.

"As a response to queries arising out of the the tweets of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. who slammed the arrest of former legislator Satur Ocampo, we wish to state that his personal position on the matter does not reflect the official view of the Administration on the issue," Panelo said.

"Sec. Locsin and Mr. Ocampo served as simultaneous members of the House of Representatives for the 1st District of Makati and Bayan Muna Party-list, respectively, for several years. We therefore consider the remarks of Sec. Locsin as personal sentiments supportive of a friend being former colleagues with Mr. Ocampo in Congress," he added.

Locsin earlier took to Twitter to assail the arrest of Ocampo, saying the human trafficking charges were "b...s..." He also vouched for the former lawmaker, saying they protected him in Congress against warrants of arrest.

Panelo, however, pointed out that friendship does not automatically translate to innocence or guilt. He said it was prudent to just let the case take its course in the case of Ocampo and his group.

"Friendship however does not give birth to the conclusive conclusion that a person charged of a crime is innocent nor does a charge sheet automatically make such individual guilty thereof," he said.

"That is precisely why the Constitution grants every citizen the presumption of innocence and burdens the state to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt," he added.

He also dispelled allegations that the Ocampo and his group were being deprived of their right to due process.

He noted the group's request to have a preliminary investigation to rebut the allegations, and to proffer evidence in support of their defense was granted by the prosecutor's office in Tagum City.

Ocampo and his group are also enjoying liberty after posting bail in court, he added.

"Those facts alone show they are being accorded due process. Other legal remedies to which they are entitled are available to them. Let the law take its course," Panelo said.

Panelo appealed anew to concerned parties "to trust the process without hasty and premature judgments."

"Let the legal mechanism work as it should. That is what the Rule of Law is all about. The law hears before it convicts, and it hears before it acquits as well," he said.

Ocampo, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro and 16 others were arrested last week at a police checkpoint in Davao del Norte for holding minors in their convoy.

The group was reportedly on a humanitarian mission along with teachers from lumad schools. The police however discovered that the minors were transported without parental consent.