Camp Crame safest detention center for De Lima – Bato

Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa is offering Camp Crame’s detention center as the safest jail for Sen. Leila de Lima should she be arrested on drug charges.

Dela Rosa assured De Lima of her safety, saying the facility is one of the most secure in the country as it is located inside Camp Crame.

“I promise her she will be safe at Camp Crame,” Dela Rosa told journalists at the sidelines of the Philippine Military Academy alumni homecoming in Baguio City yesterday.

He clarified that there is no instruction yet for any preparation in the event the court orders De Lima’s arrest.

“I am offering the facility so she will be given complete protection because she is a senator,” Dela Rosa said.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it would be up to the court to issue an arrest warrant against De Lima.

Justice Undersecretary Eric Balmes said the decision now lies with the Muntinlupa regional trial court, where the cases were filed last Friday.

The cases will be raffled off tomorrow.

“It will be up to the judge in whose sala the cases will be raffled off to decide when to issue the warrant,” Balmes said.

If De Lima is jailed at Camp Crame, she will be joining former senators Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada at the facility.

De Lima was among those who led the investigation on the pork barrel scam that led to the filing of plunder and graft charges against Revilla and Estrada.

Truth or political persecution?

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed hope the illegal drug cases filed against De Lima are based on truth and not political persecution. Bishop Broderick Pabillo of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Laity is hoping De Lima is not a victim of trumped- up charges, like what happened to some senators who were sent to prison during the administration of former president Benigno Aquino III.

He was referring to former senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Estrada and Revilla, who were jailed in connection with the pork barrel scam.

Enrile was released after he was granted bail for humanitarian reasons, while Revilla and Estrada remain in detention.

Pabillo said if a ruling administration would keep on using its power to crush the opposition, the people might lose their trust in the country’s judicial system.

He said the CBCP could not ascertain yet whether it would support De Lima.

He said the Church has yet to study the “technicalities” of the situation and see how it would progress.

De Lima was spotted at the “Walk for Life” prayer rally at the Quirino Grandstand yesterday morning.

She was wearing a white shirt marked “Walk for Life” and was surrounded by nuns.

The rally, organized by the Council of the Laity of the Philippines, was meant to gather support against the death penalty and extrajudicial killings.

There is no information on whether the senator had met with any of the bishops who attended the gathering.