House minority bloc recommends graft, drug raps vs De Lima
House minority leader Danilo Suarez says Senator Leila de Lima should be blamed for the proliferation of drugs in the New Bilibid Prison during her tenure as Justice secretary. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON
The minority bloc of lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Thursday called for the filing of criminal charges against Senator Leila De Lima for her alleged hand in the proliferation of drugs at the New Bilibid Prison.
In a press briefing, Minority Leader Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez revealed their own report into the inquiry in aid of legislation on the Bilibid drug trade under the stint of then Justice Secretary Leila De Lima.
Suarez said the bloc was recommending charges of graft, bribery, breach of Code of Conduct and Ethical Practices for Public Officials, and violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.
Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque, a human rights lawyer turned congressman, said De Lima should be liable for violating the drugs act for allegedly raising campaign funds from the Bilibid drug trade.
“Ang Secretary of Justice mismo ang dahilan bakit nagkaroon ng kalakalan ng droga sa Muntinlupa para makapag-raise ng pondo sa eleksyon ng kalihim ng Departamento ng Katarungan (It was the Secretary of Justice herself who was responsible for the drug trade in Muntinlupa so she could raise campaign funds),” Roque said.
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: Cons pin down De Lima
Article continues after this advertisementBut the bloc was open to the idea of holding De Lima liable for plunder for alleged unexplained wealth, Suarez said.
“Ang amin lang, ang conclusion ng minority is napakausual ang laki ng illegal drugs nung nakaraang anim na taon… Napakalaking kasalanan ni justice secretary (De Lima) nung panunungkulan niya ‘yung proliferation ng drugs (We at the minority have concluded that the drug trade grew immensely in the last six years. The (former) justice secretary should be blamed for the proliferation of drugs during her tenure),” Suarez said.
The minority bloc made the report after the House justice committee failed to recommend criminal and administrative charges against De Lima and other Bilibid officials.
READ: House justice panel OKs Bilibid drug trade report; no raps vs De Lima
Minority report
In the report, the bloc recommended violations of Section 8 and 27 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, for the manufacture of dangerous drugs, and for misappropriation or misapplication of seized drugs.
The minority said Bilibid inmates who testified against De Lima all alleged that De Lima “received funds from various drug lords and syndicates in order to protect their business” as well as “to accommodate their comfortable lifestyle in the national penitentiary.”
The minority cited the testimonies of Engelberto Durano, Joel Capones, and Reynante Diaz, who testified that De Lima through her driver Ronnie Dayan received drug money from alleged drug lords Herbert Colanggo and Jaybee Sebastian.
“Senator De Lima may be prosecuted as a protector or coddler of drug traffickers/manufacturers/lords,” the report said.
The report also said De Lima may be removed from office for allegedly benefitting from drug money, citing the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs law which states that “any elective national officer found to have benefited from the proceeds of the trafficking of dangerous drugs… shall be removed from office and perpetually disqualified from holding any elective or appointive positions in the government.”
The bloc also recommended charges for violating the prohibition of acceptance of gifts under Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards.
The bloc also recommended charges for direct and indirect bribery punishable under the Revised Penal Code.
The report said De Lima received millions of drug proceeds from Colanggo and Sebastian for tolerating the drug trade, as well as for allowing the concerts of Colanggo inside Bilibid.
“These provisions prohibit public officers from receiving proceeds from the trafficking of dangerous drugs… The affidavits thus consistently show that De Lima was receiving money in exchange for allowing drug lords to live comfortably in Bilibid,” the report said.
READ: De Lima on House justice body report: A sham conclusion
Finally, the bloc said De Lima was liable for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for granting special privileges or benefits to drug lords inside Bilibid.
The bloc said De Lima may also be dismissed under the anti-graft law for allegedly acquiring money manifestly out of proportion to her salary.
“Assuming it cannot be proven with certainty why De Lima has been receiving large sums of money, she can still be liable for having unexplained wealth,” the report read.
“Thus, whether money is handed directly to De Lima or to any of her confidants, she must explain how she was able to raise so much money for her electoral run so quickly,” it added
The report also refuted the House justice committee’s position that the recommendation of criminal charges is not a function of congressional inquiry and is a breach of powers that belong to the Department of Justice.
“Such a recommendation neither overreaches congressional jurisdiction nor arrogates unto itself the function that properly belongs to the Department of Justice. In fact, it recognizes that the proposal or recommendation is subject to the proper exercise of discretion of the Department of Justice,” the report read.
“Congress cannot close its eyes to the depth of depravity it had just uncovered … in the course of its legislative investigation,” it added.
The report was signed by Suarez, Roque, and deputy minority floor leader Coop-Natcco Rep. Anthony Bravo. The report would be submitted to the plenary for record keeping in the House.
De Lima has dismissed the report from the minority bloc as fake, calling the Suarez- led minority a “company union” of the supermajority of allies in Congress of President Rodrigo Duterte. IDL/rga
