Solicitor General Jose Calida elaborates on President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s statement on the declaration of martial law Calida during a press briefing in Malacañan on January 19, 2017. Calida insists that the President’s statement was hypothetical and it was just a reiteration of his commitment to protect the Filipinos from security threats. KING RODRIGUEZ/Presidential Photos
Solicitor General Jose Calida on Thursday again referred to Senator Leila de Lima as “public enemy number one.”
“There is another interesting case concerning public enemy number one,” Calida said during a Palace briefing as he enumerated the cases handled by his office.
“I am referring to Senator Leila de Lima vs Rodrigo Roa Duterte in the case for the issuance of a writ of habeas data,” he said.
In November, De Lima filed a test case against Duterte. She argued that Duterte’s verbal attacks against her are not covered by presidential immunity.
READ: De Lima files test case vs Duterte’s immunity from suit
Calida refused to discuss the case since it is still “sub judice” or under judicial consideration.
After the briefing, he told reporters that he sees De Lima as a “public enemy” because of her supposed inability to curb the illegal drug trade when she was still secretary of justice.
“She allowed proliferation of drugs in her own turf, the national penitentiary. And because of that, (there was a) ripple effect in the country,” he said. “Isn’t she now the public enemy number one?’
“She’s now a senator and she’s using her power to suppress investigations,” Calida said. “She does not want to be investigated. What kind of a public official is that?”
De Lima has denied such allegations. However, the President has accused her of accepting money from drug lords.
She used to be the chair of the Senate committee on justice, which investigated the extrajudicial killings related to the Duterte administration’s anti-illegal drugs campaign. She was later unseated as her fellow senators accused her of using the committee “for the fulfillment of personal political vendettas.”
READ: Senators explain why they ousted De Lima
De Lima was still chair of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) when she first investigated Duterte’s links to the Davao Death Squad. JE/rga