The president of Congress in charge of the presidential office José Jerí, He said yesterday that he was willing to have the secrecy of his communications lifted, within the framework of the tax investigation opened by his unofficial meetings with the Chinese businessman Zhihua ‘Johnny’ Yang.
This was expressed before the Congressional Oversight Commission, which questioned him for more than an hour. During the session, Jerí assured that he would have no problems authorizing this measure if the Attorney General’s Office formally requests it.
“I have no problem if the Prosecutor’s Office asks me to do so. I have done it before, I will continue doing it,” he stated before the legislators. He even announced that he would make his authorization official “for the purposes of knowing who I have called.”
Later, in a press conference, the president ratified that position, although he warned about the sensitive nature of the information he handles as head of state. “If my legal side tells me tomorrow let’s present the document, it will be presented tomorrow,” he declared, noting that he maintains coordination with his legal team.
“IT CANNOT BE DONE”
However, the viability of lifting the secrecy of communications does not depend on the will of the president himself. This is how he explained it to Peru21 constitutional lawyer Aníbal Quiroga, who pointed out that a fundamental right such as privacy can only be restricted by court order or within the framework of an investigative commission, and not by unilateral decision of the person involved.
“It’s like when congressmen say ‘I’m going to ask for my immunity to be lifted’. That can’t be done,” he said. As he stated, no one can have a fundamental right on their own, least of all those who hold the presidential office.
Quiroga recalled that the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court allows the Prosecutor’s Office to carry out preliminary proceedings against the president, but does not enable invasive measures such as lifting the secrecy of communications. “Other types of proceedings can be initiated, but the secrecy cannot be lifted,” he said.
The reference is ruling 152/2025 of the Constitutional Court, issued in July of last year, which establishes precise rules for investigations against the President of the Republic. The ruling establishes that, in the event of a possible crime of function, the Prosecutor’s Office can only take statements, require documents or request information, among other preliminary acts, without affecting fundamental rights.
The TC also specifies that, if the facts investigated do not fit into the assumptions of article 117 of the Constitution, the criminal procedure against the president must be suspended until the end of the mandate. This restriction does not extend to political processes, such as a possible vacancy, whose jurisdiction falls to Congress.
In that sense, Quiroga explained that any authorization that Jerí intends to channel through his lawyer “will come to nothing,” because there is no legal means to renounce in advance the constitutional protection that protects the acting president.
He indicated that a voluntary surrender of the cell phone, for example, does not replace a valid court order, a scenario that he considered unlikely. The lawyer recalled that this situation changes once the presidential term ends.
“The protection of article 117 ends at midnight on July 29,” he said, specifying that, from that moment on, the Prosecutor’s Office can request measures such as the lifting of the secrecy of communications, without the restrictions imposed today by the Constitution and the recent ruling of the TC.
