Davao del Norte 1st District Representative and newly elected House of the Representative speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said on Friday, July 22, that the reported proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) when Sen. Leila De Lima was justice secretary should be given more priority in any Congress investigation and not the rising drug-related killings.
The senator reacted to Alvarez and said, to do his research first before conducting an investigation on the alleged proliferation of drug use inside NBP the time when she was still the justice secretary.
It was in the report that linking De Lima to convicted bank robber Herbert Colangco, that Alvarez declares that she will summon the senator for a house probe.
De Lima said in an interview after President Rodrigo Duterte’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA), “Ang advice ko lang po kay Speaker Alvarez is that alamin rin n’ya po kung ano ‘yung mga ginawa ko na mga hakbang noong ako po ay DOJ (Department of Justice) secretary…Mag research naman po sila kung ano po ang aking mga ginawa sa pakikilaban din sa ilegal na droga".
De Lima is having a suspicion that there might be some people giving false information to Duterte's administration and to Alvarez just to damage her reputation.
“Huwag naman ho silang ganyan na parang nag i-insinuate sila na parang ako na ngayon ang coddler ng mga drug addict (I hope they do not insinuate that I am a coddler of drug addicts). It’s so, so, so unfair. So sana po ganun ang gawin (I hope that’s what they do),” she said.
De Lima was asked if she is willing to face the planned probe for her,“It really depends on the thrust of the investigation. If the House inquiry is really towards drafting laws in order to reform the prison system para mawala na totally yung mga prison-based criminality dyan sa (is to totally eradicate the prison-based criminality in) Bilibid, I’m more than willing to be involved,” she said.
“And in fact sa level ko, in my own committee, kung ako talaga ang magiging chair ng justice and human rights committee (In fact, if I will really be given the chance to chair the justice and human rights committee), in my own committee, I will do counterpart things, moves, actions,” De Lima said.
Alvarez said in a statement, “For me it’s an exercise in futility. Any investigation into extrajudicial killings should be in aid of legislation. So what legislation are we eyeing here? If we prove there’s extrajudicial killing then what? What will be done? To make it illegal? It’s already illegal – the law says it’s illegal. It is a crime – summary execution".
“Let us remember that Congress has no prosecutorial power – only recommendatory. We can recommend to the Department of Justice the filing of appropriate criminal charges. Again, the DOJ will conduct its own preliminary investigation and if they find probable cause, then they can file a case,” Alvarez added.
“If we have to investigate in aid of legislation, then let us investigate why during the term of now Senator De Lima, there was a proliferation of illegal drugs right inside the Bilibid. That’s what we should investigate,” the new speaker of the house stated.
“I will file a resolution to have it investigated,” he added.
Alvarez said he summon De Lima, as well as the alleged drug lords inside the NBP, as witnesses, “If she doesn’t show up, it’s her problem. We can’t force her to attend out of courtesy. But we will call the witnesses,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez also said that the House hearing could be held inside the NBP for security purposes.
“We know there’s plenty of money in drugs. I don’t want Congress to invite suspicion that it’s helping derail the active campaign against illegal drugs of the present administration,” Alvarez said.
To think it was during De Lima’s term as justice secretary when the breaking of luxurious quarters of drug lords at the NBP began.
Source: Inquirer