Ethics complaint vs De Lima has ‘form, substance’—Sotto

Senator Leila De Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

The Senate ethics committee has decided to proceed with its investigation on the complaints filed against Senator Leila de Lima for allegedly stopping her former aide and partner Ronnie Dayan from participating in a House of Representatives inquiry.

No member of the committee objected on Monday when its chair, Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, manifested that the complaints filed by the House leadership and the second supplemental complaint earlier lodged by lawyer Abelardo de Jesus against De Lima had form and substance.

READ: Ethics complaint vs De Lima filed at Senate

The body also adopted Sotto’s opinion that the committee had jurisdiction over the complaints since the act being alleged against De Lima was committed when she is already a senator.

Sotto said the committee will consolidate the two complaints since they both referred to De Lima’s alleged violation of Article 50 of the Revised Penal Code when she advised Dayan not to attend the House probe on the alleged proliferation of illegal drugs at the New Bilibid Prison.

“There’s form and substance and jurisdiction on the complaints of the House of Representatives and the second supplemental complaint of Atty. De Jesus, violation of Article 50 of the Revised Penal Code,” the Majority Leader told reporters after the meeting.

Sotto he said he would then now draft a resolution directing the committee to give De Lima a copy of the complaints.

READ: Sotto vows impartial ethics probe of De Lima

“We will ask Senator De Lima to answer. We will give her 15 days upon her receipt to give us a reply and we’ll take it from there,” he said.

The committee, on the other hand, junked the two other complaints filed by De Jesus against de Lima for her alleged involvement in illegal drugs when she was still justice secretary. JE/rga