MANILA, Philippines - The Senate ethics committee will likely dispose of the various complaints against Sen. Leila de Lima by next month, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said yesterday.
Sotto, chairman of the Senate ethics committee, said the panel will finally be able to give attention to the various complaints filed against De Lima after the Senate had its hands full deliberating on the national budget in the last quarter of 2016.
De Lima is facing at least three complaints before the committee, including the one filed by the leadership of the House of Representatives for allegedly obstructing a legislative inquiry into the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
The committee is expected to junk the two other complaints filed by private individuals for lack of jurisdiction as the supposed offenses – coddling of drug traffickers at the NBP – were allegedly committed when she was still justice secretary.
Sotto, however, said the one filed by the House will likely be recognized by the panel and be subjected to hearings as the alleged offenses were committed when De Lima was already senator.
“We want to resolve as soon as possible these complaints to be fair to the Senate, to Senator De Lima, to the complainants, to be fair to all,” Sotto told dzBB.
“I think we definitely have jurisdiction. I don’t think anyone (in the committee) will say we don’t have jurisdiction,” he said, referring the complaint filed by House leaders led by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas.
The House leaders accused De Lima of obstructing the congressional investigation when she instructed her former driver and bodyguard Ronnie Dayan to desist from appearing before the inquiry.
De Lima earlier this month told reporters she would respond to the ethics complaint even as she voiced concerns on the possible bias of some of her colleagues against her.
“It would not be good if I will easily suspect or perceive bias on their (senators) part in handling that complaint because they are intelligent and conscientious people and I hope, they would be able to discharge their function as members of the ethics committee with utmost fairness and objectivity because it’s not easy to handle such a case,” she had said.
De Lima lamented the numerous complaints – 16 by her count – filed against her before the Senate, the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice, including four disbarment cases.