MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Wednesday her plan to investigate alleged corruption involving Vice President Jejomar Binay has been on her own initiative and has not been part of any conspiracy to prevent him from winning the 2016 presidential election.
“My monitoring [of the Senate inquiry] and possible investigation of the Vice President is my own decision,” De Lima told reporters on the sidelines of a National Youth Commission event on hazing law amendments in Quezon City.
She said the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation, if it ever materialized, should not be seen as a part of the “Oplan Stop Nognog 2016” or the dirty-tricks operation aimed at stopping Binay’s presidential ambitions, as alleged by his camp and the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).
“I heard it the first time from them. I don’t know anything about it. I don’t think it exists. I’m not the type who joins so-called plots and conspiracies like that,” De Lima said.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
The justice secretary added that if UNA asked, she could even order the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the conspiracy.
“If there is a legitimate request, why not? As to what the direction [of the probe will be], one thing is clear: DOJ-NBI never gets itself involved in politicking. [But we can investigate] if there is a criminal end or goal in that oplan they are saying,” De Lima said.
She said neither President Aquino nor Liberal Party (LP) stalwart and Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, whom Binay defeated in 2010, influenced her on her plans to investigate the allegations against Binay.
“The President has not told me anything, more so Mar Roxas, about this. I’m not an LP member, I’m never part of the political circle,” she said.
On the allegations that she was biased against Binay, she replied, “That is an amusing accusation. I’m an alter ego [of the President] in the sense that when I fulfill my mandate, the President leaves me alone since I’m not doing anything wrong. He’ll stop me if I do something wrong or if I violate the law. If he thinks [what I’m doing] is part of my mandate, he won’t stop me,” she added.
Her reply on accusations of “selective” justice: “I don’t know why it’s their favorite [accusation]. What selective justice are they talking about when we are investigating many things? Our attitude is that as much a possible, we prioritize everything. It’s just getting highlighted now because [those involved are] high-profile. It’s not our fault if they’re high-profile.”
De Lima later sent a text message in reaction to lawyer and UNA interim secretary general JV Bautista’s statement calling on her to focus on the “too many cases” being handled by the DOJ instead of the “hatchet job” against Binay.
“I’d rather be accused of being overzealous and ‘over-reaching,’ than being timid, derelict and half-hearted in fulfilling my mandate. In times like these, I always think of the advice of my [late] father: ‘Just do the right thing always. You may err or fail at times, but for as long as your intentions are pure and your mind is set on what is good for many, just do what you have to do.’ I go always with my principles. For them, this is a hatchet job. For me, it’s just part of the job based on principles.”
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