Trigger warning: sexual harassment 

MALACAÑANG has dismissed Assistant Solicitor General Derek Puertollano after he was found administratively liable for sexual harassment of two legal interns. 

According to the Office of the President, Puertollano committed acts such as unwanted touching and brushing against a person’s body, as well as surreptitiously looking at a person’s private parts.

One of the interns recalled that during a work-related trip to Cebu in 2022, Puertollano entered the bathroom in their accommodation without his permission and touched his buttocks. 

Another intern accused Puertollano of making suggestive comments about his body, touching his thigh, and looking at his crotch. 

Puertollano denied all the allegations, but it was not enough to convince the OP to retain him in his position.

“Jurisprudence dictates that positive testimony prevails over denial and alibi since the latter can easily be fabricated and are inherently unreliable,” the OP stated.

“After a careful examination of the evidence presented, it is found that there is substantial evidence to hold Puertollano guilty for the offenses he was charged with,” it said.