Rep. Harry Roque INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Kabalikat ng Mamamayan (Kabayan) party-list representative Harry Roque Jr. sought on Thursday Senator Leila de Lima’s expulsion from the Senate, filing a complaint against her in the ethics committee.
In his 18-page complaint-affidavit, Roque cited De Lima’s alleged involvement in anomalies at the National Bilibid Prisons (NBP) during her stint as Justice Secretary.
He also claimed in his complaint that the senator was able to carry out the alleged irregularities with the help of a non-government organization, BuCor Love Foundation Inc, headed by his party mate and Representative Ron Salo, whose expulsion from the House of Representatives he is also seeking.
BuCor Love was involved in spiritual and charitable work at the NBP and provided technical as well as vocational skills education to its inmates.
According to Roque, “An investigation by the Justice Committee of the House of Representatives has established her (De Lima’s) complicity as an enabler and beneficiary of illicit drug trade at the NBP while she was the Secretary of Justice, ostensibly to fund her 2016 campaign as a Senator.”
He further alleged “Respondent De Lima not only conspired with high-profile prisoners inside the NBP, she also criminally conspired with a character who is now a current member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Ron Salo, in order to mask and hide their illegal activities inside the NBP maximum security compound and afford them impunity.”
The congressmen pointed out that the senator and his party mate, who was BuCor Love chairman of the board of trustees, have been trying to stop him from further investigating their alleged involvement in NBP anomalies by trying to oust him from Congress.
READ: Roque faces ouster as party-list probes his grilling of De Lima affair
Roque further claimed that BuCor Love, “was in reality criminally misused and abused by Respondent De Lima and Rep. Salo as a shield to mask the illicit drug activities at the NBP.”
He cited the House of Representatives committee on justice report which found De Lima allegedly complicit in the proliferation of the narcotics trade at the NBP based on witness testimony that drug money was collected from inmates to fund the senator’s campaign in the 2016 elections.
Roque claimed that De Lima is “clearly guilty of gross misconduct” for her alleged conspiracy with Salo to hide her involvement in the NBP narcotics trade and allegedly deceiving the public on her relationship with her former driver Ronnie Dayan.
“Her relationship with Ronnie Dayan had to be exposed not because it was intriguing, but because it establishes the mode through which Respondent De Lima operated her illegal financing activities,” he explained.
According to Roque, “It is quite chilling and frightening to think that she is holding one of the highest elective positions in government because of her illegal and immoral actions.”
He concluded his complaint by asking the Senate ethics committee to vote and recommend to expel De Lima. RAM/rga