Will the President interfere?

PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald dela Rosa's clarification of President Rodrigo Duterte's controversial statement that he would not allow elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 8 and the Regional Maritime Unit 8 that killed Albuera mayor Rolando Espinosa to go to jail can be reassuring if that is really what his commander-in-chief will do.

De la Rosa yesterday said the President won't interfere if cases are filed against sacked CIDG 8 Chief Marvin Marcos and the other members of the team that served a search warrant on Espinosa inside a sub-provincial jail in Baybay City, Leyte that resulted in the mayor's death.

“The President just wants to express his support to the operating troops by saying na ayaw niyang ipakulong. Meaning, hahanapan niya ng paraan na hindi sila makulong,” dela Rosa said, adding that the help given could take the form of providing them with good lawyers.

But that can be dela Rosa's opinion only, that is why it would be good to monitor subsequent developments. When he defended the CIDG 8 and Regional Maritime Unit 8 elements, the President noted that both the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are under his authority. The NBI had filed multiple murder charges with the DOJ against the concerned policemen.

Will that point be taken by the NBI and the DOJ to go slow in the prosecution of the policemen? Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre himself assured that the NBI people were not demoralized and the DOJ panel looking into the complaint the NBI filed won't be influenced by the President's statement. That still remains to be seen, though.

One thing going for those who believe Duterte won't interfere in the legal proceedings is the fact that the NBI, which is under the DOJ, went ahead with the filing of the case. They wouldn't have done so had the President told them to submit an investigation report favorable to the policemen.

Still, the wheel of justice should be allowed to grind in the Espinosa slay case if government wants to protect the integrity of the criminal justice system.