Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon with Sen. Leila De Lima at the opening of the 17th Congress at the Senate, July 25, 2016. (Photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ/Philippine Daily Inquirer)
“The haste is deplorable,” three Liberal Party (LP) senators said on Thursday.
In a joint statement, Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon and Senators Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino, strongly condemned the impending arrest of their partymate, Sen. Leila De Lima, over her alleged involvement in illegal drug trading when she was justice secretary.
“We repeat: The Sandiganbayan, not the RTC (Regional Trial Court) has jurisdiction over the case as the alleged wrongdoings were supposedly committed when she was justice secretary,” the senators said.
They said they got a report that the judge had just returned from a trip to Macau. They added that a thick motion to quash pleading had been filed at the judge’s court.
“Basahin naman niya ang motion (We hope he reads the motion). The haste is deplorable,” they added.
The LP senators said they feared for De Lima’s life, citing what happened to former Rolando Espinosa, former mayor of Albuera town in Leyte, and Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo – who were both killed inside police-controlled facilities.
“This arrest is purely political vendetta and has no place in justice system that upholds the rule of law. This is condemnable,” they said. “We reiterate that an arrest based on trumped-up charges is illegal.”
They asserted that the Office of the Ombudsman has primary jurisdiction over cases against public officers that would be tried at the Sandiganbayan.
They pointed out that the charges filed by the Department of Justice, which is violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act, falls under “other offenses committed by public officials” listed in the Sandiganbayan Law.
“We maintain that if this warrant of arrest is served, it would be a clear violation of legal proceedings and is therefore a violation of her constitutional right to due process,” the LP senators said. /atm