DOJ Secretary Leila De Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The fight against a “rotten judiciary” is the new battleground for democracy in the country, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said Tuesday during the country’s 114th Independence Day anniversary.
Speaking at the Bonifacio Monument, DeLima, who has been nominated chief justice, said that aside from the justice system, the fight was also “for the freedom from poverty, graft and corruption, injustice and the old system through the straight path.”
She said work still needed to be done to return the trust and confidence of the public not only in the judiciary, but in the entire government system.
De Lima also took a dig at former President, now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when she urged the Filipinos to be vigilant to achieve justice against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
She said there were personalities who still took advantage of the justice system to escape liability.
“While victims of various crimes cry for justice up to now, there are those who use power and influence to get a temporary restraining order to stop the wheels of justice from turning.”
De Lima said we should not only think and respect ourselves but “we should also learn to respect others and give importance to the nation’s future, nothing more, nothing less.”