Arrested journalist Philip Lustre denied due process, Prosecutor General says

MANILA – Veteran journalist Philip Lustre, who was arrested after attending a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday, was denied due process when the subpoena for him was sent to the wrong address, Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon said Monday.

The 71-year-old Lustre, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, is being sued for cyberlibel.

“I would have to agree with them that they were not given due process as they were not given the opportunity to answer,” Fadullon said in a media interview.

Luster’s lawyer, Dino de Leon, noted that the address on the warrant, issued by a Davao City court, was different from the one in the subpoena.

“I believe that there was some omission on the part of the prosecutor by not validating why and how certain the respondent was on the address that was provided,” Fadullon said.

“The prosecutor should have also done ‘yung tinatawag natin na (what we call) due diligence. There should be an evaluation and there should be validation.”

Fadullon said the Department of Justice may initiate an investigation into possible procedural lapses that led to the release of the warrant of arrest without giving the respondent a chance to file his counter-affidavit.

Benjamin Pulta/Philippine News Agency