RESIGNED Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban will only be taken into police custody if there is a warrant of arrest, Malacañang said Thursday, October 25.
The assurance came a day after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to arrest Guban and bring the latter to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
"Kung meron siyang pending warrant of arrest, kung meron siyang kaso at merong dating pending warrant, puwede na (If Guban has a pending warrant of arrest, if he is facing a case and there is an issued warrant, he can be arrested)," Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a radio interview.
"Kung wala naman, ang ibig lang sabihin ni Presidente, pinakita niya lang na buwisit siya sa mga ganoong klaseng tao. Ibig sabihin noon ay pinapakuha niya 'yun para dalhin sa NBI, para imbestigahan (If there is no arrest warrant, the President merely wants to emphasize that he does not like that kind of person. Meaning, he wants to bring Guban to the NBI to be investigated)," he added.
In a speech delivered at Palace on Wednesday, October 24, Duterte sought the arrest of Guban, who allegedly had a role in the smuggling of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) into the country.
In the Philippines, only courts can order the arrest of any individual after the determination of a probable cause.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said his department would ask the NBI if there is a "subsisting warrant" or if there is any ground for a "warrantless arrest" for Guban.
In a September 12 special report released by Duterte on October 10, Guban was recommended to undergo further investigation and in-depth lifestyle check for his supposed links to illegal drugs.
Guban is currently detained inside the Senate compound after he was cited for contempt for giving inconsistent remarks with regard to the P6.8-billion shabu believed to have been packed in magnetic lifters found in Cavite on August 7.
Following Duterte's order, the PNP is mulling to take Guban from the Senate premises even without a warrant of arrest. (SunStar Philippines)