The Court of Appeals. FILE PHOTO
Senator Leila de Lima has asked the Court of Appeals to stop the Department of Justice (DOJ) from acting on the criminal cases filed against her.
In her 46-page petition for prohibition and certiorari, De Lima insisted before the appeals court that the DOJ has no jurisdiction to conduct a preliminary investigation of the cases filed against her.
She said the Office of the Ombudsman has the sole jurisdiction to conduct an investigation into offenses cognizable by the Sandiganbayan.
Crime watchdog group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy directors Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala and high-profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian filed criminal complaints against De Lima for her alleged participation in the proliferation of illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
The complaints filed against her include indirect bribery, violation of the Anti-Graft Law and violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
De Lima initially questioned the DOJ’s jurisdiction in a motion submitted to the DOJ panel of prosecutors. VACC argued that the motion should be dismissed because the regional trial court has exclusive jurisdiction to handle violations of the anti-drugs law.
The DOJ panel of prosecutors led by Seniors Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong denied De Lima’s motion. The panel said they will issue a written order along with the resolution on the case.
The panel has considered that De Lima has waived her right to counter the allegations against her and submitted the case for resolution.
In elevating the case to the Court of Appeals, De Lima said even if she has been accused of violating the anti-drugs law, it still has to be determined if the alleged offenses were committed in relation to her former position as justice secretary.
“Hence, as the charges against petitioner are all within the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan, pursuant to Section 4 of PD No. 1606, as amended, and over which the Office of the Ombudsman has primary and exclusive jurisdiction to investigate, in view of Section 15 (1) of RA No. 6770, the instant cases should be endorsed to the Office of the Ombudsman,” the petition stated.
She added that even Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II admitted that the cases against her will still be forwarded to the Office of the Ombudsman.
“It is a waste of time and government resources if the DOJ would still pursue the investigation on these cases after conceding that it is the Office of the Ombudsman which has primary jurisdiction over these cases, and that nonetheless the DOJ would still submit its findings to the Office of the Ombudsman,” she added.
The senator also added that the preliminary investigation at the DOJ lacked impartiality and objectivity.
“The integrity of the investigation in the cases however appears to be seriously tainted and deeply compromised, as no less than the President and the DOJ Secretary in tandem with each other, and, at numerous times, acting separately, have prejudged the guilt of respondent Senator De Lima.”
“In this environment, where the President and the DOJ Secretary have complete control and supervision over the work of their subordinates at the DOJ, it is a foregone conclusion that the conduct and the results of the investigation will not be impartial and objective,” she further stated. RAM/rga
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