DAVAO City First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte has criticized the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) “180-degree” reversion of its earlier decision of indicting former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on his libel case, but now dismissing it altogether.
“So this is what ‘justice’ looks like now? After seven years and almost a full-blown trial, the DOJ suddenly did a 180 and reversed its earlier resolution indicting Antonio Trillanes for libel—signed by no less than the then DOJ secretary and now Ombudsman Boying Remulla… talk about timing…,” Duterte said in a statement on Friday, October 17, 2025.
In a strongly worded statement, Duterte said the DOJ appeared to have found a new calling — not as a defender of the law, but as a protector of the administration’s political allies.
“Dismiss the cases against Trillanes? Of course. That’s the ‘new’ justice system of the Philippines — one where friendship and political accommodation trump accountability,” he said.
He further remarked that judges and justices might as well resign, as the DOJ and the Ombudsman seem to have taken over the role of upholding the law in the country.
“This is not justice — this is reward. A reward for loyalty to the right people, for serving the right narratives. And the Filipino people see right through it,” he said.
“If this is the standard of ‘integrity’ that the Ombudsman and DOJ want to uphold, then perhaps lawyers should all go back to school — because clearly, these people in the administration are rewriting the law to favor their friends,” he continued.
The Davao City lawmaker emphasized that the country’s justice system deserves better than a DOJ and an Ombudsman who, in his words, “play politics instead of protecting the truth.”
Meanwhile, in a shared post, Trillanes said it had been six years since the Dutertes allegedly weaponized the justice system against the opposition.
“Ngayon pa lang naitutuwid ang mga binaluktot nyo. Kaya tahan na, Pulong, at asikasuhin mo na lang yung mga sabit mo sa 51 bilyon pesos na projects sa distrito mo (Only now are the things you twisted being corrected. So hush now, Pulong, and just deal with your issues involving the ₱51 billion worth of projects in your district),” Trillanes said.
As of writing, the DOJ has not released an official statement regarding the matter. RGP