Senator Leila De Lima has asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop the Department of Justice (DOJ) from deciding on the complaints in relation to her alleged participation in the illegal drug trade.
The DOJ is evaluating four complaints against its former top official, De Lima, who is accused of tolerating drug syndicates inside the New Bilibid Prison supposedly in exchange for campaign funds in the 2016 polls.
De Lima dismissed the allegations, calling it a fabrication by the Duterte government which she criticized over the unexplained killings of drug suspects under its war on illegal drugs.
In a petition filed on Monday, De Lima said the complaints filed by the National Bureau of Investigation, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, former NBI deputy directors Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala and NBP high profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian should be referred to the Office of the Ombudsman.
She said the Ombudsman has jurisdiction over complaints against government officials and employees.
De Lima added it would be a "waste of time and government resources" if the DOJ would still pursue the investigation on these complaints after conceding that it is the Ombudsman which has primary jurisdiction.
The DOJ had said that it would still submit its findings to the Ombudsman, which may conduct its own fact-finding probe into the allegations.
The senator said the integrity of the DOJ probe "appears to be seriously tainted and deeply compromised," as no less than President Rodrigo Duterte and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II have "prejudged" her guilt.
“In this environment, where the President and the DOJ Secretary have complete control and supervision over the work of their subordinates at the DOJ, it is a foregone conclusion that the conduct and the results of the investigation will not be impartial and objective,” the petition stated.
She urged the CA to issue a temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction against the DOJ's preliminary investigation on the four complaints, which have been submitted already for resolution.
The petition has been raffled off to CA Associate Justice Danton Bueser.
The DOJ is evaluating four complaints against its former top official, De Lima, who is accused of tolerating drug syndicates inside the New Bilibid Prison supposedly in exchange for campaign funds in the 2016 polls.
De Lima dismissed the allegations, calling it a fabrication by the Duterte government which she criticized over the unexplained killings of drug suspects under its war on illegal drugs.
In a petition filed on Monday, De Lima said the complaints filed by the National Bureau of Investigation, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, former NBI deputy directors Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala and NBP high profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian should be referred to the Office of the Ombudsman.
She said the Ombudsman has jurisdiction over complaints against government officials and employees.
De Lima added it would be a "waste of time and government resources" if the DOJ would still pursue the investigation on these complaints after conceding that it is the Ombudsman which has primary jurisdiction.
The DOJ had said that it would still submit its findings to the Ombudsman, which may conduct its own fact-finding probe into the allegations.
The senator said the integrity of the DOJ probe "appears to be seriously tainted and deeply compromised," as no less than President Rodrigo Duterte and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II have "prejudged" her guilt.
“In this environment, where the President and the DOJ Secretary have complete control and supervision over the work of their subordinates at the DOJ, it is a foregone conclusion that the conduct and the results of the investigation will not be impartial and objective,” the petition stated.
She urged the CA to issue a temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction against the DOJ's preliminary investigation on the four complaints, which have been submitted already for resolution.
The petition has been raffled off to CA Associate Justice Danton Bueser.
Source: gmanetwork
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