Senate ethics panel junks complaints vs De Lima

The Senate ethics committee has dismissed the complaints filed against Sen. Leila de Lima, including one coming from leaders of the House of Representatives.

In its first hearing for the year, the ethics committee headed by Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III took up all the complaints pending before the body, three of which were previously dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction.

A total of five complaints were filed against De Lima, who is presently detained in Camp Crame, Quezon City. Two of the complaints were dismissed last year.

Lawyer Abelardo de Jesus and Ronillo Pulmano filed the two dismissed complaints after the committee decided that the complaints were not within its jurisdiction.

That left the three complaints filed by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas; presidential spokesman Harry Roque; and a second complaint filed by De Jesus, which was allowed by the committee.

In the complaint filed by the House leaders, De Lima was accused of violating Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code or disobedience to summons issued by the national assembly.

This referred to the alleged effort of De Lima to prevent her former driver Ronnie Dayan from attending the inquiry of the House of Representatives on the proliferation of illegal drugs in the New Bilibid Prison.

During the meeting of the ethics committee yesterday, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon pointed out there is a pending case against De Lima before the Quezon City metropolitan trial court (MTC) on the same issues brought before the committee.

Drilon argued that whatever the decision of the MTC on the case of De Lima would have a direct impact on the complaint filed before the committee.

If for instance the MTC dismisses the case against De Lima, then Drilon said that there is nothing more for the committee to take up.

He said that the committee could either dismiss the complaints against De Lima for lack of jurisdiction or archive it until the MTC rules on the case.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who had his run-ins with De Lima before, pointed out that she neither violated any Senate rule nor committed any illegal act in the performance of her official duties as senator so the complaint should be dismissed.

Sen. Gregorio Honasan said that “in the spirit of humanity we might set a trend prospectively that will allow the chamber to assert its independence as a last bastion of our democracy and start protecting its members from abuse of discretion or authority.”

“We will not question what happened in the past but my question is what else can we do to Senator De Lima?” Honasan said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros echoed Honasan’s statement, saying that De Lima has been living under very difficult circumstances for one year already.

In the end, the committee decided to dismiss the complaints against De Lima, without prejudice to the refiling of another complaint in the future, as suggested by Drilon.

During yesterday’s meeting, the committee also dismissed the complaints filed by former Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon against Senators Lacson and Antonio Trillanes IV.

Drilon noted that Faeldon was engaged in forum shopping when he filed the case against Lacson before the ethics committee.

Faeldon’s case against Lacson was in response to the privilege speech delivered by the latter, which alleged among other things that the former military captain received P100 million as a welcome gift upon his assumption as Customs commissioner.

The privilege speech of Lacson became part of the inquiry conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, which Faeldon refused to take part in and, as a consequence, he was detained by the Senate.

In his complaint against Trillanes, Faeldon alleged that his former Magdalo colleague lied with regard to his alleged meetings with former Davao City vice mayor Paolo Duterte and his brother-in-law Manases Carpio.

“You know Mr. Faeldon does not exactly come to the committee with clean hands because he himself says Trillanes should be disciplined because of malicious imputations. We have this doctrine in law that he who comes to court has to come with clean hands,” Drilon said.

“Mr. Faeldon himself has made very malicious and untruthful statements against members of the Senate and therefore, if anyone has abused his right to criticize public officials, Faeldon is as guilty as anybody because I’ve heard him, totally without basis, put (in question) the reputation of people and senators because of malicious statements,” he added.

Sotto said that he would present the committee reports on the dismissed complaints in plenary.

There are four complaints left on the table for the ethics committee – two against Trillanes by Sen. Richard Gordon and De Jesus; one by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II against Hontiveros; and Trillanes against Gordon.