De Lima sues Aguirre, accuses him of stopping prosecution of EJK suspects

Senator Leila de Lima and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

Senator Leila De Lima on Thursday filed a criminal complaint against her rival Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre for grave coercion, use of falsified documents and false testimonies in making De Lima the alleged queen of the Bilibid drug trade, as well as his alleged hand in preventing the prosecution of suspects in the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJK) at the height of the administration’s war on drugs.

In her criminal complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, De Lima sued Aguirre for violations of the Revised Penal Code in the following provisions — Article 208 (Negligence in Prosecution and Toleration of Criminal Offenses), Article 286 (Grave Coercion), Article 172.2 (Use of Falsified Documents), Article 184 (Offering False Testimony), and Article 239 (Usurpation of Legislative Powers) of the Revised Penal Code.

Aguirre was also sued for committing graft for violating Section 3 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

In her complaint, De Lima said Aguirre should be held criminally liable for failing to investigate and prosecute suspects in the alleged 7,000 killings related to the administration’s war on drugs.

“Despite these clear mandates and the concomitant awesome powers vested in the Secretary of Justice to fulfill such mandate, herein respondent as Secretary of Justice and administrative supervisor of both the National Prosecution Service and National Bureau of Investigation has, up to the present, failed to investigate and prosecute a single case of drug-related extrajudicial killings (EJK), whether classified as ‘killed in PNP operations’ or as a ‘death under investigation’, aside from some of those presented during the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights’ hearings on EJKs,” the complaint read.

De Lima said she received reliable information from the Department of Justice (DOJ) that Aguirre ordered the National Prosecution Service (NPS) not to prosecute any law enforcement officer who may have summarily killed a drug suspect in implementing the administration’s war on drugs.

“There is reliable information coming from the DOJ that respondent himself has issued an illegal directive to the NPS that no public prosecutor is allowed to file a case against any law enforcement official enforcing the Administration’s ‘war on drugs,’ including cases of possible summary executions of drug suspects during PNP anti-drug operations,” De Lima said in her complaint.

De Lima said this alleged policy of Aguirre is the reason the deaths due to the administration’s war on drugs kept on piling up, without a single case being filed in court.

“This is the reason why up to the present, and after more than 7,000 deaths, not a single case of PNP killing or ‘death under investigation’ recorded by the PNP itself as drug-related killings, other than those cases exposed in the Senate EJK hearings, was ever investigated or prosecuted by the NBI and the NPS under respondent DOJ Secretary,” De Lima said in her complaint.

De Lima said Aguirre committed felony of dereliction of duty “when he maliciously refuses to enforce the law against PNP officials and vigilante assassins on possible cases of EJKs committed during police operations and EJKs carried out as street executions by roaming death squads.”

De Lima also said this is a case of graft and corruption under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act “by giving the unwarranted privilege of non-prosecution to PNP officers and vigilante assassins, at the expense of and in extreme prejudice to the rights of EJK victims and, basically, in utter disregard of law and justice.”

Aguirre should also be held liable for the administrative offenses of Gross Neglect of Duty, and Inefficiency and Incompetence in the Performance of Official Duties, as well as the administrative malfeasance of grave misconduct, oppression, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

“Instead of carrying out his mandate to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of EJKs in the country, respondent says that he does not consider EJK victims to be humans,” De Lima said of Aguirre.

De Lima also accused Aguirre of using the Department of Justice “to orchestrate and execute the malicious prosecution of complainant as the alleged leader of the New Bilibid Prison drug lords, based on the testimonies of convicted drug lords, as well as the coerced statements of former DOJ officials and employees.”

READ: De Lima accuses Aguirre of coercing Bilibid drug trade witnesses

De Lima is detained on drug sale and trade charges which are the results of the House of Representatives inquiry into the alleged Bilibid drug trade involving De Lima and her driver Ronnie Dayan.

Aguirre in that probe presented Bilibid convicts to pin down De Lima for allegedly raising campaign funds in the alleged trade.

De Lima also sued Aguirre for his baseless accusations “based on unverified information” being hurled against the opposition, including “falsely accusing” senators of conspiring to implicate him in the Jack Lam bribery scandal at the Bureau of Immigration, and of falsely accusing opposition lawmakers of conspiring to destabilize the government by meeting in Marawi City before the Maute Group’s siege.

Aguirre was earlier sued before the Ombudsman by youth groups for allegedly proliferating fake news.

READ: Complaint filed vs Aguirre over ‘fake news’

De Lima also said Aguirre “recklessly” accused the Korean Embassy of being compromised by the Korean mafia, which Aguirre accused of being involved in the murder of businessman Jee Ick-joo.

The Korean businessman was apparently murdered in Camp Crame by rogue cops.

De Lima also sued Aguirre for blaming her in the Resorts World fire incident which was caused by a lone gunman who barged in and burned casino tables with gasoline.

Aguirre earlier said the National Bureau of Investigation will include in its Resorts World probe De Lima’s legal opinion enjoining the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) from implementing the country’s fire laws on Resorts World Manila and other casinos, instead giving such jurisdiction to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

“Respondent recklessly accused complainant of being responsible for the Resorts World fire,” De Lima’s complaint read.

De Lima also cited Aguirre’s unverified allegations that Lalaine Madrigal Martinez, wife of Bilibid drug trade witness Noel Martinez, was ambushed for her knowledge on an alleged bribery try by former Sen. Jamby Madrigal and incumbent Biñan city Rep. Marlyn Alonte.

Aguirre accused the former lawmakers of bribing the Bilibid drug convicts to recant their testimonies against De Lima.

“Up to the present, nothing came out of his fake story involving a fantastic tale about a senator and congresswoman bribing drug lords and ambushing the wife of one of the drug lords, for the simple reason that the ambush and bribery never took place and that the fake story was simply fed to respondent without him checking on any factual basis for said fake story,” De Lima said in her complaint.

Even though the police has denied such an incident, Aguirre presented photos of a bloodied Martinez and her car hit with a lone bullet to belie criticisms the ambush was fake. JE