DOJ, OSG can’t agree on nature of De Lima’s offense—Hilbay

Former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

How can Senator Leila de Lima defend herself when the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Solicitor General cannot agree on the nature of her offense. This was the question raised by former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay during Tuesday’s oral argument on De Lima’s petition to nullify the court’s order for arrest as well as the lower court’s lack of jurisdiction.

The high court is hearing both De Lima’s camp and the government through  Solicitor General Jose Calida.

READ: Calida, Hilbay to face off at oral argument on De Lima’s plea

The information (charge sheet) against De Lima stated that she violated Section 5 (Illegal Drug Trading) of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 while the Office of the Solicitor General, in their comment on De Lima’s petition, said that the senator “actually committed Section 26 (conspiracy to commit drug trading).

Hilbay said, the shift from the charge of consummated drug trading to mere conspiracy “is the clearest admission that Sen. De Lima is not a drug lord.”

“The shift away from illegal drugs as the corpus delicti (body of the crime) to mere agreement to trade in illegal drugs is a clear admission the government’s accusations are not supported by evidence,” Hilbay said.

The former solicitor general said what the DOJ is doing is like prosecuting someone for murder without the evidence of killing or for theft without any evidence of anything stolen as he noted that the DOJ’s evidence is mere testimonies of convicts.

The oral argument is still ongoing. RAM/rga