‘Leila’s admission boosts disbarment case’

MANILA, Philippines – The disbarment case against Sen. Leila de Lima has become stronger with her admission of a previous affair with her former driver Ronnie Dayan, an official of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) said yesterday.

IBP director Ramon Esguerra agreed with the opinion of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II that De Lima’s admission in a recent television interview has bolstered the allegation of immorality in the disbarment complaint filed against her before the Supreme Court last month by groups led by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC).

“That admission is a material in the disbarment case because the complaint before the Supreme Court cited that alleged immoral or illicit affair with her former security aide and driver. It will actually boost the complaints,” Esguerra said in an interview.

Esguerra, a prominent litigation lawyer who served in the defense team in the impeachment of the late chief justice Renato Corona, stressed that the moral character of a practicing lawyer matters to the SC in resolving moral issues raised in a disbarment case.

“The moral or immoral character of a lawyer is very crucial in the totality of his or her life. It’s not all about the manner you practice the profession,” the IBP official stressed.

De Lima broke her silence and confirmed that she had a relationship with the Dayan for “a few years” in an interview with GMA News TV’s “Bawal ang Pasaway kay Mareng Winnie” show, which aired last Nov.14.

Asked why she fell for Dayan, De Lima said it is due to the “frailties of a woman.”

“We became so close, that’s it, because I trusted him and of course I fell for him,” she confessed.