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| Former Justice Secretary and now Senator Leila De Lima strokes her hair as she reads her statement Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, at the Philippine Senate in suburban Pasay city south of Manila, Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte, in a news conference Wednesday, linked De Lima to the illegal drug trade and called her "immoral woman." De Lima, for her part said, President Duterte, who also criticized the United Nations for condemning the spate of killings of suspected drug criminals in the country is "abusing and misusing his executive power." AP/Bullit Marquez |
House Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez, House Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo “Rudy” Fariñas and House Committee on Justice chair Reynaldo Umali filed a complaint against the senator for snubbing a probe into her alleged role in the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison while she was Justice secretary.
They also called out the senator’s move to instruct her former driver and bodyguard Ronnie Dayan to skip the probe. Dayan was cited for contempt and was ordered arrested for failing to appear before the House Justice committee.
House leaders said De Lima violated Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code for disobedience to a summons issued by the national assembly, its committee, or subcommittee.
A complaint must undergo a preliminary investigation to determine whether charges can be filed in court.
Disobeying a summons carries a penalty of imprisonment from one month and a day up to six months or a fine amounting from P200 to P1,000 or both.
On Monday, the House leadership, through Umali, also filed an ethics complaint against De Lima at the Senate.
They also complained about the senator’s repeated snubs, which they deemed a “disrespect” of the lower house of Congress.
De Lima repeatedly said she would not attend the House probe but also repeatedly denied the allegations from witnesses who said she collected drug money from them to fund her election campaign.
The senator is currently in the US to receive an award and will later on fly to speak at the Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin, Germany.
She is expected to return to the country on December 22. - Rosette Adel - Philstar
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