“…Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge…” –Psalms 16:1
I happened upon a Facebook post by former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Perfecto Yasay, Jr. indicating he had been served an arrest warrant claiming he was involved in a criminal case against officials of the now-defunct Banco Filipino.
The former government official, who served as interim Department of Foreign Affairs secretary under President Rodrigo Duterte, said he would not post bail immediately and will stay in jail under he is brought before a judge of the Manila Regional Trial Court-Branch 10, which issued the warrant. He wanted to contest his inclusion in the case involving anomalies recorded between 2003 and 2006, claiming he had only joined the financial institution in 2009.
His arrest is sure to send shockwaves through the legal community.
No arrest warrant is issued in a criminal case immediately. The prosecutor (or the Department of Justice) first issues a resolution, which directs the filing of a criminal case. Once the resolution is used, a case is filed in court. A judge then reviews the case if there are sufficient grounds and, if deemed adequate, a warrant is issued.
For lawyers in court every day, they monitor every step of the process in an effort to prevent their client from being arrested.
This promises to be a big legal battle. For me, the basis in which Yasay was implicated must have already been carefully scrutinized, especially his claims of not being involved with the bank during the period in question. What I can say about the accused is that he is righteous in his ways (we ran for Senate together on the Aksiyon Demokratiko ticket in the 2004 elections). His faith is rooted in the Word of God and the Bible, and he makes it a point to obey God’s commands every second of his life.

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