EDITORIAL - Burden of proof

The person accused of wrongdoing is a senator, and it is his duty, President Duterte said, to tell the truth to the nation. On Wednesday he hurled serious accusations against Sen. Leila de Lima, saying she had an affair with her married driver who collected drug payola from convicts at the New Bilibid Prison.

While the President said he was not sure if the drug money was forwarded to De Lima when she was the secretary of justice, he added that this seemed to be the case. The story about the driver is not new. As early as 2014, jueteng whistle-blower Sandra Cam had alleged that the driver, identified as Ronnie Palisoc Dayan, had been made an employee of the Department of Justice and was acting as an influence peddler in the DOJ and its attached agencies.

This time it is the nation’s highest official accusing De Lima of a serious offense. Complicity in drug deals, if true, can put the senator behind bars for life. Yesterday De Lima strongly denied receiving drug money, although she admitted there were “snippets of truth” in the President’s accusations. She may want to specify the snippets. Keeping everyone guessing fuels speculation that the worst accusations are true.

Since Dayan’s name has been mentioned and his houses, or those of his relatives, have been identified, it will also be good for him to surface and clear his name.

De Lima can remind the nation about the presumption of innocence. But she must also confront the reality that in this country, people tend to believe the worst about public officials, especially when the accusation has been hurled by an enormously popular president.

It is one thing, however, to accuse, and another to prove it. Government prosecutors, who have reportedly launched a probe of De Lima, must present solid evidence to back the President’s public condemnation of a senator. Without the evidence, the President opens himself to accusations that he is engaged in a smear campaign to dissuade a senator from doing her job and conducting a probe into what appears to be systematic, gross human rights violations. Being a lawyer, the President knows that the burden of proof is on the accuser.