Of course anyone who’s been charged and arrested would deny and deny the accusations. Senator Leila de Lima is no exception. And there is no shortage of “groups” backing her denials of wrongdoing. True to form, the Inquirer gives such voices prime space such as one “coalition” known as “One for Leila”…
“We reject and condemn in the strongest terms the threat of imminent arrest of Senator Leila de Lima in what is another attempt to silence the fiercest critic of the Duterte administration,” the group said in a one-page manifesto distributed to media in Quezon City on Friday.
The kicker in such statements as this is in the pompous way its members presume to make pronouncements that only a proper Philippine court of law can make. In the case of “One for Leila”, the claim in their manifesto is that “the accusations against her are baseless.” Perhaps. But, again, this is for a Philippine court to decide as mandated by the Constitution. Due process is a bitch when you are on the wrong side of the equation, ain’t it?
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How big a denial does De Lima need to do to clear her name? A lot.
De Lima is accused, among other things, of collaborating with prison officials to extort money from inmates who were — under de Lima’s watch — allegedly allowed to traffic illegal drugs from within prison. She is also accused of receiving money and gifts from imprisoned drug lord Peter Co. Many observers are also alleging that the money and assets obtained by de Lima from the criminal activities she is accused of engaging in went into funding her campaign for a seat in the Philippine Senate in 2016.
Even more interesting, de Lima is held accountable not just for the overall proliferation of drugs in the Philippines, but also for routine travesities of justice. One high-profile case is in the manner with which she led the persecution of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In late 2011, De Lima as then Justice Secretary slapped a travel ban on Arroyo who, at the time, was seeking permission to travel abroad for medical treatment. The basis of De Lima’s hold order on Arroyo’s travel plans was her claim that Arroyo was in the process of seeking politican asylum in the Dominican Republic — a claim which was later denied by that country’s government. But the real punchline in that Cabinet-level gaffe was in how De Lima’s claim was based on a mobile phone text message from an unknown sender…
JUSTICE Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday admitted that the government has no clear proof that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would seek political asylum in Dominican Republic.
In a chance interview, De Lima said she received the information regarding Mrs. Arroyo’s asylum only thru a forwarded SMS message, and she doesn’t even know the identity of the sender.
“Kung may nakuha akong information about Dominican Republic? Sabi ko oo, nakatanggap ako ng text so I’m verifying it. I don’t even know who’s the source of text kasi finorward lang sa akin,” De Lima said.
[Translation: Did I receive information about the Dominican Republic? I said, yes, I did receive a text message and I’m verifying it. I don’t really know the source of the text because it was just forwarded to me]
De Lima disclosed that once she gets any information during the verification, she would immediately disclose it in public.
…an astounding demonstration of lack of procedural rigour in a department that is supposedly all about law and procedure. In this regard, the way de Lima now thrashes around shrieking about “trumped up charges” while crying bloody “persecution” comes across as quite amusing. As a lawyer and former Justice Seecrtary — and now a legislator, no less — de Lima should exhibit a bit more faith in the system upon which she built her supposed legal and political career. De Lima can assert her innocence to the media all she wants. At the end of the day the courts will provide the only authoritative answer to that claim — not the media, not public opinion, and certainly not the Roman Catholic Church.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
I also wrote on that:
Senator Leila Dilemma Is A Very Good Example of What’s Wrong With Filipino Society
what is she talking about baseless accusation against her. were the photos of her with druglords baseless? how could she deny that? now will she go hunger strike which will send her to be exile in other country? that’s the pilipinos should decide and no one else even the three the executive, lagislative, and the judiciary. her future now is in the hands of the pilipinos. watch her going hunger strike her next move.
I’m not sure if the words “proper” and “Philippine Court” belong in the same sentence.
If the country had a real, functioning judicial system which actually offered “due process”, then all kinds of problems – including the immediate one with De Lima – might be solved. But since it doesn’t, they won’t.
Hunger strike? That piggy could lose a few pounds anyway
only in the Philippines where you can find a nations’ constitution is like a toy money. only in the Philippines where you can find a senator/senators criminally charge can still perform his/her duty as a senator. only in the Philippines where you can find a pilipino priest inciting pilipinos to revolt to protect a de facto constitution. the judge handling the de lima case as one of the most highest magistrate of the country should do his/her own decision and not to follow a de facto constitution and its laws. or else the pilipinos will still be under the spell of the de facto yellow constitution. we can see clearly how it works for 31 years now.
Leila de Lima, the Bitch is finally locked up, together with her lover, Ronnie Dayan…she was responsible for the proliferation of the illegal drug Shabu in the Philippines. Aquino and Mar Roxas were also responsible in the proliferation of the Shabu drug; with their alliances with the Chinese Triad Mafia…
The drug proliferation went deep into the Barangay level of government. And, Mar Roxas was the Secretary of Interior and Local Government. Could you convince me, that Mar Roxas, is not responsible for the Shabu drug proliferation? By the way, what happened to the missing Typhoon Yolanda Funds ?
The Shabu drug problem became nationwide…the late Secretary Robredo, was murdered in an allege “plane crash”….However, there were some reliable sources reports, that Sec. Robredo was investigating the Shabu drug connections in the Aquino administration.
There is a possibility, that Aquino, himself and the Aquino Cojuangco political axis, ordered the murder of Sec. Robredo, to keep him quiet. “Dead man tells no tale”, states a Carribean Pirate !
With all the “Pandering for Sympathy” of Leila de Lima, and her minions. The Philippine Court will decide her case. Let us not POLITICIZE this criminal case. It is drug dealing case, and it involves, the former Secretary of Justice , herself. Some high officials of the former Aquino administration, are involved, also !
International Press, and do gooders. Stay out of this case. It is an internal affair of the Philippine government…we want our country to be free of illegal drugs . This is not a political persecution !
karma’s a bitch ain’t it? but a rightful bitch it is…reap what you sow
The fact that she will soon live in a jail cell devoid of luxury should make De Lima lament her sins. She will be provided due process, that is for sure, which she should utilize at this time to redeem herself. It is quite ironic though, that, being part of the justice system that did not offer due process, she is now going to receive it from that same justice system. Life is a bitch but her undoing she brought upon herself.
yellows, tell de lima, stop mentioning ordinary pilipinos regarding her case. the nation wants to see her jailed. when the people saw her pics with druglords she’s already guilty. she cannot twist that. now we want to see justice for the saf 44.
Criminal: a person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation.
In these electric times the criminal receives a cosmopolitan reputation. It is a privilege she/he shares with few other artists.
Criminals should be punished, not fed pastries. The punishment of criminals should be of use; when a woman/man is hanged she/he is good for nothing.
Providence sees to it that no woman/man gets happiness out of crime. To have once been a criminal is no disgrace. To remain a criminal is the disgrace.
jim paredes provoking a fight. look like he’s drunk.