De Lima to skip DOJ suboena

Senator Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Only a representative of Sen. Leila de Lima will appear before the Department of Justice (DOJ) Friday afternoon for a supposed preliminary hearing to investigate her alleged involvement in the proliferation of illegal drugs inside New Bilibid Prison (NBP) during her term as justice secretary.

De Lima clarified that the subpoena she received only required gathering the complaints lodged against her.

“It’s not really the preliminary investigation yet as I understand it, because the subpoena I received was just to obtain copies of the complaints and the supporting evidence,” she told reporters at the sidelines of a forum on death penalty in Quezon City.

She said the subpoena issued by DOJ stated that she or her authorized representatives can receive the copies.

The lawmaker also said her representative will file an “omnibus motion” before the justice department. She did not elaborate.

There are at present four complaints against De Lima filed by the National Bureau of Investigation, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, NBP inmate Jaybee Sebastian and former officials of NBP and Bureau of Corrections.

READ: Jaybee Sebastian files graft, criminal raps vs De Lima

She has repeatedly denied all allegations.

De Lima also reiterated that she will not honor the show-cause order issued by the House of Representatives.

READ: De Lima to let Senate act on House show-cause order

“It was never served on me,” she said. “And if was indeed served on me, I will not honor it. I will just wait for the initial action of the ethics committee [of the House of Representatives].”

De Lima also said the 72-hour period for the show-cause order has not lapsed because it was never served on her.

The order requires the lawmaker to explain why she should not be cited in contempt for ignoring the summons of the court during the probe on the NBP drug trade, as well as for allegedly instructing her driver Ronnie Dayan to go into hiding./rga