There’s a right time to file a case vs rice smugglers—De Lima

By: Tetch Torres-Tupas - 11 years ago

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima on Thursday again told Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to stop telling her what to do regarding rice smuggling.

“Of course we would know when is the right time to file a case, we would know if a case is already ripe for filing,” De Lima told reporters.

Duterte has been criticizing the Department of Justice for its slow action against rice smugglers.

“It’s easy for them to say that we are too slow because they do not know the process,” she said adding that “we will not file a case just because the issue is very hot.”