De Lima set to file charges vs. Duterte ‘sooner than you think’

Rodrigo Duterte and Leila de Lima composite

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MANILA, Philippines - Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday said she is bent on filing charges against President Rodrigo Duterte and it will be “sooner than you think.”

“That is settled already ... ‘yung mga kaso na ifa-file kasama ang Pangulo, because he’s at the top of all this. Kagagawan niya ‘tong lahat,” De Lima said during a media briefing.

De Lima said she would not have been “vilified” publicly by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, and his own fraternity brother, House justice committee chair Reynaldo Umali, if they weren’t told by the President.

Aguirre presented several inmates against De Lima during a congressional inquiry over her alleged involvement in the illegal drug operations inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

“Do you think they will do all this kung hindi ‘yan kagustuhan ng Pangulo? Of course not. So siya ang principal respondent ko palagi sa mga kasong ifa-file ko,” De Lima said.

Asked when the charges will be filed against Duterte, De Lima said: “It’s sooner than you think.”

De Lima said a legal team composed of volunteer lawyers are already working on the charges to be filed.

The senator, however, refused to disclose what those specific charges are upon the advise of her lawyers.

Earlier this month, De Lima said she will file a “test case” against Duterte for his “blatant abuse of power.”

Duterte, as chief executive, enjoys the doctrine of presidential immunity.

She said then that she will seek before the Supreme Court a writ of amparo and habeas data.
The writ of amparo is a “remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.”

The writ of habeas data, meanwhile, is a “remedy available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security is violated or threatened by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity engaged in the gathering, collecting or storing of data or information regarding the person, family, home and correspondence of the aggrieved party.” — RSJ, GMA News