Fadullon said Lustre might have not been accorded due process

Journalist Philip Lustre Jr. may not have been accorded due process during the preliminary investigation of the cyberlibel complaint filed against him, leading to his arrest over the weekend, Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon acknowledged on Monday.

Fadullon said Lustre was not able to refute the allegations against him during the preliminary investigation stage because the DOJ subpoena was sent to the wrong address.

Lustre, 72, an author of the book titled "Kill, Kill, Kill" which pertains to the anti-illegal drug war campaign under the Duterte administration, was arrested by police authorities in Quezon City by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by a Davao court for a cyberlibel case filed by Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband-lawyer Manases Carpio.

Fadullon said that apparently, in the particular case, reliance was made on the information provided in the investigation data form saying that he was connected with another broadsheet newspaper that’s why he never received his copy of the complaint.

He said that is why he believed the respondent and the lawyer are claiming that they were not given due process. “I would have to agree with them that they were not given due process as they were not given the opportunity to answer,” he added.

Lustre’s lawyer Dino de Leon earlier said they will seek to invalidate the arrest warrant and the dismissal of the case on the ground of deprivation of due process of his client.

Fadullon said Lustre may still file a motion to reopen the preliminary investigation.

The statement came following Remulla’s call for the DOJ to look into the claims of Lustre’s camp that he was not served a subpoena, noting the existence of a “modus” where complainants provide the wrong addresses of respondents.

“The DOJ needs to investigate what happened and why it did not arrive. What happened to the subpoena? What happened to the documents sent to the respondent?,” Fadullon said.