Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre and Senator Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II cautioned Senator Leila De Lima in issuing statements that can be considered “inciting to sedition.”
Inciting to sedition is an offense punishable under Article 142 of the Revised Penal Code committed by “any person who, without taking any direct part in the crime of sedition, should incite others to the accomplishment of any of the acts which constitute sedition, by means of speeches, proclamations, writings, emblems, cartoons, banners, or other representations tending to the same end.”
The crime also involves “utter seditious words or speeches, write, publish, or circulate scurrilous libels against the Republic of the Philippines or any of the duly constituted authorities thereof, or which tend to disturb or obstruct any lawful officer in executing the functions of his office, or which tend to instigate others to cabal and meet together for unlawful purposes, or which suggest or incite people against the lawful authorities or to disturb the peace of the community, the safety and order of the Government.”
Such crime is punishable with imprisonment of up to six years and a fine not exceeding P2,000.
De Lima earlier called President Rodrigo Duterte “psychopathic murder” and a “dictator.”
The embattled senator also called on the public to fight for human rights and democracy.
“Now is the time to make a stand and rise up in the face of a criminal dictator and a repressive regime,” De Lima said in Filipino.
“She [De Lima] should be careful about her statements, she was already inciting to sedition,” Aguirre said who warned that the senator is already facing an anti-drug charge.
The Justice chief also said that the allegations against the President about the Davao Death Squad are rehashed.
“It is all rehashed and Senator De Lima knows it. She served as chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights from May 7, 2008 to June 30, 2010 and as Secretary of Justice from June 30, 2010 to October 12, 2015, yet she did not file any case against then Mayor Duterte on the purported killings. Even the timing is suspect, why come out only now? Is somebody diverting the public’s attention from what is to come? One cannot help but ask these questions,” he said.
In likening Duterte to Joker, a villain in the DC Comics Batman, Aguirre said “when a person quotes from Batman, a fictional character, it places in doubt the veracity of her statements.”
Aguirre, together with Solicitor General Jose Calida advised De Lima should just concentrate on facing the drug charges filed against her.
“Senator De Lima’s latest tirades against President Duterte and the government clearly show why she is the high priestess of hypocrisy,” he said.
“She should stop acting like a vacuous victim and crybaby. My unsolicited advice to her is face the charges with equanimity and dignity befitting a senator,” he added. RAM
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