Sen. De Lima is ‘Public Enemy No. 1’ — SolGen
A RANKING government official on Monday tagged Senator Leila M. de Lima, who is currently facing complaints related to the illegal drug trade, as “Public Enemy No. 1.”
Solicitor- General Jose C. Calida, in a strongly worded statement read before reporters during the launch of the Coalition against Illegal Drugs (COIL), called Ms. de Lima as the “high priestess of hypocrisy” and “patron saint of narco-politics.”
Complaints against Ms. de Lima were filed in connection with her alleged involvement as one of the “protectors” of the drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), the national penitentiary.
The four drug raps were filed by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption ( VACC), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), former NBI deputy directors Reynaldo O. Esmeralda and Ruel M. Lasala, and NBP inmate Jaybee Sebastian.
VACC is one of the members of the newly-formed COIL, which is composed of civil society groups, including the Republic Defenders, Citizens’ Crime Watch, Conform to Federalism, and United Filipino Seafarers.
Mr. Calida committed the Office of the Solicitor General’s (OSG) support to the complainants, saying: “As the people’s tribune, the OSG offers its legal services to the complainants who sued [Ms.] de Lima in the DoJ (Department of Justice), Ombudsman and other venues for her criminal participation and complicity in the proliferation of illegal drugs in the national penitentiary.”
Aside from the drug raps plus a disobedience complaint before the DoJ, the embattled senator is also facing disbarment cases before the Supreme Court and an ethics complaint at the Senate.
The OSG also said Ms. de Lima’s continuing criticism of President Rodrigo R. Duterte is an act of destabilization and “make a mockery” of his policies.
“[Ms.] de Lima unleashed a torrent of nasty and destabilizing tirades against President Duterte’s war on drugs. As an officer with a cabinet rank, I am also the alterego of the President and we cannot accept these tirades,” he said.
Ms. de Lima is known as one of the staunchest and most vocal critics of Mr. Duterte. She has earlier accused the government of using public resources to pin her down.