De Lima: Ping a big challenge

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima admitted yesterday that her conflict with Senators Panfilo Lacson and Antonio Trillanes IV is one of the major challenges she has faced in her 15 months in office.

“There are some major challenges I have encountered so far just like the continued conflict with the likes of Senators Lacson and Trillanes,” she confessed in an exclusive interview with The STAR.

The row between De Lima and Lacson stemmed from the case involving the November 2000 killing of publicist Salvador Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito.

She had issued a hold departure order against the senator who went into hiding for over a year. She also stood by the previous administration’s indictment of the senator for the celebrated double murder case even after the Court of Appeals already cleared him of the charges earlier this year.

De Lima said dealing with Lacson reminds her of the stress she had when she chaired the incident investigation and review committee (IIRC), which looked into the celebrated hostage-taking incident on Aug. 23 last year in Luneta Park that killed eight Hong Kong tourists and hostage taker Rolando Mendoza, a disgruntled dismissed policeman.

Lacson and De Lima faced each other recently during a budget hearing at the Senate. They were cordial but admitted it was not the venue to resolve their issues.

Also recently, Trillanes called for her resignation over purported lack of action on corruption charges against the previous administration.

“Damn if you do, damn if you don’t,” she lamented when asked to comment on Trillanes’ call.

De Lima said the senator should not expect immediate indictment of officials in the previous administration.

“We can’t just file cases without necessary evidence. The core mandate of the DOJ is prosecution of cases and it is important to first establish probable cause,” she said.

The DOJ chief also pointed out that there are already charges against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo pending in the department for preliminary investigation.

Despite all these challenges, the DOJ chief stands her ground.

“What keeps me going is that I know that many people also respect me and my work. That’s in fact my gauge to determine whether it’s time for me to go. I know when to quit and I would not need the prodding of anyone when it happens,” she said.

“Public approval is very important for me because the public is the ultimate boss. If a majority of the people view you as a liability and no longer an asset then it’s your duty to quit,” she said.

The justice secretary admitted that she feels rewarded and fulfilled by results of independent surveys, where she consistently topped the list of most trusted Cabinet officials of the Aquino administration.

“Some of my actions may fall within less than the expectation of some people. But for as long as I think that’s the right thing to do I would do that,” she added.