Agreement: De Lima will be arrested at 10 a.m. Friday
Senator Leila De Lima sheds a tear speaking before the media at the Sumulong Room of the Senate before going home to pack her things and be with her family on Thursday, February 23, 2017. The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court issued a warrant for her arrest. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Updated: 12:28 a.m., Feb. 24, 2017
Sen. Leila de Lima has until 10 a.m. Friday to stay in her office before she would have to let the arresting team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) take her into custody, Ferdie Magalang, the senator’s media officer, told reporters late Thursday night.
Maglalang said this was the agreement between Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Jose Balajadia and the CIDG.
Earlier, the arresting officers went to De Lima’s house in Parañaque. But failing to find her there, they went back to the Senate.
They were not allowed, however, to go up her office at the fifth floor of the Senate building.
The Senate leadership had said earlier that De Lima could not be arrested within Senate premises.
De Lima had returned to her office past 10 p.m. Thursday, just as the CIDG team was on its way to her Parañaque home.
In a brief interview with reporters, De Lima said she preferred to spend the night at the Senate.
“I just feel unsafe if they do the arrest tonight,” she said.
PNP chief’s order changed previous deal
In her brief interview with reporters on her return to Senate, De Lima said there was a previous “agreement” that she would be allowed to spend the night at her home in Parañaque.
But she said the plan changed suddenly – supposedly because of an order from Director General Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
She said it was Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Interior Secretary Ismael Sueño who agreed to let go home and let her go back to the Senate on Friday to receive the arrest order outside the chamber.
“May arrangement na ho sa kanila na ganun nga ho, dahil hindi naman talaga ako aalis, hindi naman ako tatakas, hindi naman magtatago, hindi naman ako iiwas,” De Lima told reporters. “Kaya kampante rin nga ako na I’ll be staying overnight sa bahay.”
(There’s an arrangement with them to that effect, because I’m really not going away, I’m not escaping, I’m not going into hiding, I’m not avoiding it. So I was really confident I’ll be staying overnight at home.”)
“Bigla hong nagbago. Desisyon na ho ata ni General De la Rosa,” she added.
(“It suddenly changed. Maybe it was a decision by General De la Rosa.”)
Did she think it was President Rodrigo Duterte who ordered her immediate arrest?
“The fact na si General Dela Rosa mismo ang nag desisyon, hindi ba boss niya dapat si Secretary Sueno? So may nag-overrule na mas mataas. Ganun ang reading ko.”
‘I’m not going away’
De Lima reiterated that she would not evade the arrest but expressed hope that she would not be arrested inside the chamber.
“I’m here at the Senate and kung gagalangin nila ang Senado bilang institusyon, hindi ho dapat nila pilitin na pumasok dito para arestuhin ako. Kasi saan naman ako pupunta? Hindi naman talaga ako tatago, hindi naman ako aalis. So huwag ho nilang pilitin yan. That would be a disrespect to the Senate. Kaya hintayin lang po nila ako diyan sa labas,” she said.
(“I’m here at the Senate and if they would respect the Senate as an institution, they should not force entry here to arrest me. Where would I go? I’m really not going into hiding, I’m not going away. So they shouldn’t force it. That would be a disrespect to the Senate. So they should just wait for me outside.”) /atm
