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MANILA – The detained senator Leila De Lima appealed on Saturday the decision of the Ombudsman’s Office that dismissed her complaint against the Secretary of Justice, Menardo Guevarra, for allegedly violating the law on the use of convicted persons as state witnesses.
In his appeal to the Court of Appeals, De Lima said under Sec. 10 (f) of the Witness Protection, Safety and Benefits Program (WPSBP) Act, convicts are disqualified from appearing as state witnesses.
“The WPSBP Act prohibits those convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude from becoming state witnesses … Bilibid convicts that the DOJ turned into state witnesses against De Lima … were convicted of heinous crimes, including kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking, among others “. read a statement from the office of the senator, former chief justice.
He also criticized the Ombudsman for allegedly not investigating Guevarra, for defending him and for not even asking him to respond to his complaint filed on October 29, 2018.
“The Ombudsman’s Office, instead of investigating what it itself admitted is Guevarra’s act of converting convicts as state witnesses, acted as a pro bono lawyer for Guevarra,” the statement said.
Guevarra was accused of disregarding his duty as Secretary of Justice in the complaint for not prosecuting the drug lords of Bilibid “who admitted to being involved in drug trafficking [and] instead [used] them as state witnesses. ”
The same drug convicts had implicated de Lima in the drug charges, which according to the staunch critic of the administration were politically motivated.
In dismissing the administrative complaint, the Ombudsman said that Sec. 10 (f) of the law “does not apply if the crime was committed in prison and the only witnesses are convicted criminals.”
But De Lima said there is no such exception or condition under the WPSBP, and said the Ombudsman just made it up.
“If this kind of culture and thinking in the Ombudsman is allowed to worsen, the constitutional office could be abolished for having been neutralized by its own officials,” he said.
De Lima has been detained at the PNP Custody Center since February 2017.
Refusal to exercise powers?
De Lima also noted that the Ombudsman’s Office asked Guevarra to submit a certification showing the status of convicted criminals who became state witnesses under the law. The Secretary of Justice, however, rejected the request because the status is confidential.
Because of this, the Ombudsman’s Office said its investigation into the matter could not continue.
The senator described the incident as “absurd and ridiculous” because the office’s investigation “cannot be defeated just because the subject of the complaint refuses to cooperate.”
“The Ombudsman appears to be projected as a ‘useless, useless, powerless, if not lazy and indolent agency of the government, to be defeated in its mandate by a mere refusal of the Respondent to provide the requested certification,” he said. said.
“What the Ombudsman says is that it is the responsibility of citizens to investigate and provide evidence through spoon feeding before he can act on any complaint made against a public official. This is almost hilarious if it weren’t so tragic. “
De Lima faces 3 counts of conspiracy to commit illicit drug trafficking, accusations derived from her tenure as secretary of justice. He got involved, allegedly, supposedly to raise money for his Senate run. She has repeatedly denied the charges.
His lawyers recently told the media that several witnesses, including convicted drug trafficker Vicente Sy, officials from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Anti-Money Laundering Council, among others, allegedly admitted to the witness stand. that they had no personal knowledge about De Lima’s alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.
LOOK: DOJ on De Lima’s arrest: Has not requested bail | African National Congress
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