Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has been prodded to make true his vow to restore the public trust in the justice system by replacing key officials of the Department of Justice believed to have committed questionable acts.
Okada Manila conveyed this message to Guevarra in seeking the expulsion of his top prosecutor from the $10-million estafa cases against Japanese gaming mogul Kazuo Okada, the jurisdiction of which is being taken over by the DoJ.
In an eight-page motion, Tiger Resorts Leisure & Entertainment Inc. has asked acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan, who heads the National Prosecution Service, to recuse himself from handling or assigning the prosecutor who would take over the investigation of the estafa cases against Okada and Takahiro Usui.
On Tuesday, Guevarra said the department was taking over jurisdiction of the estafa cases from the City Prosecutor of Parañaque where they have been pending since last year.
He had also tasked the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the leak of Parañaque City Prosecutor Amerhassan Paudac’s resolutions to the social media accounts of Okada’s Korean girlfriend, Chloe Kim, even before it was officially released to the parties.
As head of the NPS, TRLEI said Catalan, as concurrent City Prosecutor of Makati City, should inhibit himself from handling or assigning prosecutors to handle the estafa cases to avoid suspicion of partiality and bias against the complainant.
It was Catalan who approved the dismissal of the illegal drugs charges against businessman Peter Lim, Kerwin Espinosa and 20 other suspects.
Reports said the dismissal of the illegal charges caught the ire of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The same reports said it was the main reason for the replacement of Vitaliano Aguirre II as DoJ secretary.
On Catalan’s inhibition, TRLEI said that as Makati City prosecutor, he had previously and “erroneously” dismissed a criminal complaint for three counts of perjury against Okada and Usui, who are also the same respondents in the estafa cases lodged before Parañaque prosecutors’ office.
“TRLEI seriously doubts Catalan, if made to act in the [estafa] cases likewise involving the same parties and related issues, can act with the required objectivity and impartiality. As such, Catalan must inhibit himself from resolving the [estafa] cases or designating the prosecutor who would take over the cases,” the motion stated.
Last year, TRLEI filed a complaint for three counts of perjury against Okada and Usui before the City Prosecutor of Makati City.
However, on March 19, 2018, the Office of the City Prosecutor, with the approval of Catalan, wrongfully dismissed the complaint for perjury.
This prompted TRLEI to file a petition for review before the DoJ assailing the resolution of Catalan.
“To erase all doubts and to promote the ends of justice, Catalan has no other judicious recourse except to inhibit himself from the cases, if and when called to resolve the same or select the prosecutor who would take over the case,” TRLEI said.
TRLEI has sued Okada over unauthorized disbursements of more than USD10 million in company funds. He is also facing a string of cases in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan.