Aguirre: Leila only has self to blame

MANILA, Philippines -  Sen. Leila de Lima is not being persecuted and she only has herself to blame for her poor defense in the drug trafficking charges against her, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said yesterday.

Aguirre said De Lima should stop insinuating that her arrest last Friday was political persecution for her persistent criticisms against the Duterte administration, particularly its war on drugs.

Aguirre pointed out De Lima was arrested because she actually did not submit an answer to the criminal charges filed against her during the preliminary investigation and instead insisted on questioning the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The senator said the cases against her should have been brought before the Office of the Ombudsman because she is a public official.

“This is a very simple case. She did not file a counter-affidavit in the DOJ so it was easy for the judge to see probable cause and issue the warrant of arrest,” he stressed in an interview.

Aguirre, a known litigation expert, believes that De Lima’s legal strategy that focused on the issue of jurisdiction was “weak.”

De Lima’s fellow Liberal Party senators supported her argument on jurisdiction, saying violation of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act) falls under “other offenses committed by public officials” stipulated in the Sandiganbayan Law.

But Aguirre said even the Court of Appeals did not buy the senator’s argument that the drug cases should have been forwarded to the Ombudsman when it denied her plea for a temporary restraining order that could have prevented the DOJ from filing the cases in court.

Aguirre also denied the claim of De Lima and fellow LP senators that the arrest warrant appeared to be rushed.

LP senators said the judge who issued the warrant just came back from Macau and apparently did not give any cognizance to De Lima’s motion to quash the charges against her.

They also warned the public against the possible use of these criminal charges against De Lima as a “political tool, propaganda and smokescreen or distractions for the public.”

Aguirre said, “It was not rushed. We were actually expecting the issuance of the arrest warrant as early as last Friday when the cases were filed in the Muntinlupa trial court.”

Aguirre explained De Lima’s motion to quash was not enough to assail the DOJ’s finding of probable cause in the cases involving the sale and trading of illegal drugs and liability of government officials under RA 9165 against her.

Aguirre added he already inhibited from the De Lima cases earlier precisely to dispel allegations of political persecution.

Lawyers of De Lima, now detained at the Philippine National Police custodial center in Quezon City, said they would file a petition before the Supreme Court this week to question her arrest and again assail the jurisdiction of the regional trial court (RTC) on the cases.

But Aguirre stood pat on the jurisdiction of the RTC on the drug cases against De Lima.

“It is the RTC that has original and exclusive jurisdiction over the three cases, regardless of the high position of the respondent. Trading in illegal drugs has no connection with the performance of her duties as (former) secretary of justice,” he explained.

Solicitor General Jose Calida has supported this position of the DOJ. In a statement, Calida said the RTC has jurisdiction over cases regarding violations of RA 9165 even if the charges involved alleged acts committed when De Lima was still secretary of justice.

Calida cited Section 90 of RA 9165, which provides that RTCs have the jurisdiction to exclusively try and hear cases involving illegal drug activities.

Calida also cited as precedent the coup d’etat charges against Sen. Gregorio Honasan II in 2004 for his alleged involvement in the Oakwood mutiny.

He said the SC ruled in the Honasan case that the Administrative Code gave the DOJ, as the prosecution arm of the government, the power to investigate the commission of crimes, prosecute offenders, and administer the probation and correction system.

“The power of the Ombudsman to investigate the illegal activities of public officials, including Senator De Lima, is concurrent with the power of other government agencies, such as the DOJ. Hence, Senator De Lima is wrong when she said that only the Ombudsman can investigate and charge her for her drug offenses,” Calida pointed out.

The hearings on De Lima’s motion, which seeks outright dismissal of the charges, are set this Friday.