Ethics case vs Leila to be handled in secret–Sotto

Senator Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III (left) said any ethics complaint against Sen. Leila de Lima will be handled with secrecy. INQUIRER FILES

THE SENATE ethics committee has taken up a complaint filed by a lawyer against Sen. Leila de Lima but panel members agreed to keep the proceedings secret. They were also given “homework” to study the complaint and decide if they had jurisdiction over the case.

Sen. Tito Sotto, chair of the committee on ethics and privileges, said the members were apprised of the complaint on Tuesday and they all agreed to keep the proceedings confidential.

Senators Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson and Risa Hontiveros attended a brief organizational meeting on Tuesday afternoon in Sotto’s office.

This is the first case against a colleague the committee will investigate in the 17th Congress. The complaint—filed by lawyer Abelardo de Jesus last week—cited De Lima’s alleged drug links as alleged by President Duterte.

The President and the senator have been at odds since De Lima initiated a Senate investigation into the government’s bloody war against illegal drugs which has resulted in the extrajudicial killing of hundreds of drug suspects.

De Jesus said he did not have personal knowledge of the allegations but believed the ethics committee was the “proper forum” for investigating the case.

“We informed the members officially that there was a complaint filed against a senator. We decided to keep it confidential because it might be premature publicity,” Sotto told reporters after the meeting on Tuesday.

Sought her reaction, De Lima said the complaint was “again just one of those harassment tactics being hurled against me.” She said there were other things being done to taint her name, but she was not about to disclose them.

“…[T]hey have been destroying my character, my reputation, etc. And maybe they’re trying to break my spirit, but they will never succeed. That will not happen,” she said.