De Lima faces charges over Dayan advice
THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DoJ) has filed disobedience charges against Senator Leila M. de Lima, in connection with her advice to her former staff Ronnie P. Dayan to ignore the summons of the House of Representatives.
Officer- in- Charge Prosecutor General Jorge G. Catalan, Jr. said the case was filed before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) last Dec. 15, just two days after the complaint was filed by House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo V. Umali before the DoJ.
A copy of the DoJ resolution was given to reporters only yesterday, the same time the office of Ms. De Lima received a copy.
Ms. De Lima, who has just returned from a foreign trip on Tuesday night, said in a statement that she was not personally served a copy.
“This rush to crucify me publicly through inaccurate press releases and statements, even before allowing me the chance to learn about the charges against me and to prepare my defense, speaks loudly and clearly of the real motivation behind the filing of this case,” the senator said.
The DoJ resolution reads: “This resolves the complaint filed by [Messrs.] Alvarez and Umali against [ Ms.] De Lima for disobedience to summons issued by the National Assembly, its committees or subcommittees, by Constitutional Commissions, its committees, subcommittees or divisions under Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code,” the resolution read.
The charge stemmed from the House of Representatives’ probe “in aid of legislation, on the proliferation of drug syndicates at the New Bilibid Prison ( NBP)” during the time when Ms. De Lima was secretary of the DoJ, which has authority over national penitentiaries.
Messrs. Alvarez and Umali noted in their complaint that Ms. De Lima ignored her summons and instructed Mr. Dayan, through his daughter via a text message, “to hide and not appear in the House Inquiry.”
The resolution noted that bail is not required for the charges, which is punishable by “arresto mayor (a month and a day to six months) and/or a fine of 200 to 1,000 pesos.”
Nonetheless, Ms. De Lima said she has been put “in the difficult and lamentable position of standing publicly accused without even knowing what the allegations against me are.”
“Therefore, pending our receipt of the formal notice by the proper court, my legal team is currently reviewing all options available to us,” she added.
DRUG RAPS
In another development, Ms. De Lima issued a separate statement on the growing clamor for her to explain her alleged links to the drug trade in the NBP.
“It’s saddening and frightening that even high-ranking public figures have swallowed hook, line and sinker the fantasy that the Duterte administration has been weaving: that a single person was single-handedly responsible for the proliferation of drugs in our country, and that it took place only over the course of my term,” she said.
Ms. De Lima was not present at yesterday’s second hearing of the drug raps filed against her and several others at the DoJ for her alleged involvement on the proliferation of the drug trade at the NBP.
Ms. De Lima, represented by her lawyer Pilibon Tacardon, also did not submit a counteraffidavit, citing their pending motion asking Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II to inhibit from the complaints and move the jurisdiction to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Others who failed to submit their counter- affidavits were inmates Peter Co, Vicente Sy and Jojo R. Baligad, and Ronnie P. Dayan who is Ms. De Lima’s former aide. All the other respondents sent their lawyers to hand in their signed counteraffidavits.
Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter L. Ong, head of the five- man panel of prosecutors, closed the preliminary investigation and deemed the case submitted for resolution.