The fast acquittal of the son of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla in his illegal drug possession case demonstrated the tragic reality that the country’s justice system caters to the privileged and powerful while it steps on the poor and vulnerable, a progressive group lamented on Friday.

In a statement, Bayan Muna executive vice president Carlos Isagani Zarate remarked that “sana all” or he hoped that other pending cases of ordinary poor Filipinos are swiftly decided like the young Remulla.

“If only this kind of swift resolution to a highly controversial case involving a scion of influential families like the Remullas will also be applied to the cases of hundreds of political prisoners and thousands more less privileged Filipinos languishing in many detention facilities all over the country, we can honestly say this indeed is a welcome one, an exemplar of how our justice system works,” he said.

Zarate recalled that during the Duterte administration's bloody drug war, thousands of victims who are mostly poor “were not even given the same chance of due process” as the Justice Secretary's son.

“'Di tuloy natin masisi ang karamihan sa ating mga kababayan na mag-isip na ang batas at hustisya sa Pilipinas ay nakakiling sa mga mayayaman at makapangyarihan samantalang ginagamit naman laban sa mga mahihirap at inaapi," he further said.

Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III was arrested during anti-illegal drug operations in Las Piñas City in October last year. Authorities seized about 937 grams of high-grade marijuana (kush) with a street value of Php 1.31 million from him.

On Friday, he walked freely from detention after Las Piñas Regional Trial Court Branch 197 cleared him from an illegal drug possession case.