Senate President Vicente Sotto III came to the defense of his nephew, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto after the neophyte mayor was summoned by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for an alleged violation of the “Bayanihan Act”.
The Bayanihan Heal as One Act, which gave President Rodrigo Duterte special powers to solve the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the country was enacted into law on March 24.
The alleged violation came from Vico’s initiative to transport medical workers and frontliners using the city’s public tricycles, but it was banned on March 19 by Inter Agency Task Force on COVID-19 (IATF).
“What are they talking about? Laws are never retroactive if detrimental to any accused,” Tito Sotto posted on Twitter.
“NBI will be well advised to be cautious in their interpretation of the law I principally authored. Any so-called violation of RA 11469 can’t be retroactive,” the senator added.
Meanwhile, netizens expressed their unwavering support to Vico on social media using the #ProtectVico, which entered the worldwide trend.
What are they talking about? Laws are never retroactive if detrimental to any accused. https://t.co/QIT6uEji79
— Tito Sotto (@sotto_tito) April 1, 2020
(RJ Espartinez)