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BY TIFFANY ANNE TAN
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BACOLOD City –What Sen. Leila de Lima went through in the past days was “unprecedented,” according to a colleague.
De Lima was removed as chair of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, and is facing investigation over the alleged proliferation of drugs at the New Bilibid Prison when she was Justice secretary.
“Unprecedented iyong pagtanggal sa kanya (as committee chair),” said Hontiveros. “Never before na may senador na tinanggal bilang chair ng kanyang committee.”
“Walang overwhelming reason para tanggalin siya,” stressed the former party-list representative.
Hontiveros was here to help distribute anti-Zika packets to several residents in Barangay Alijis and attend a congress of small fisherfolk.
The House of Representatives is also looking into allegations that de Lima has received money from drug lords at the Bilibid to fund her campaign.
“Unprecedented din na ang isang sitting senator ay imbestigahan ng isang house ng ating Kongreso,” Hontiveros said.
Several witnesses have incriminated the former secretary of the Department of Justice.
The Bureau of Corrections, which manages the national penitentiary, is under the Justice department.
Hontiveros said the witnesses’ statements need to be corroborated.
Some lawyers “nag-express ng surprise na ang mga convicted ay nagbigay nang ganyan ka seryosong testimonya,” she said.
Other senators questioning de Lima’s objectives or capacity should have turned to the ethics committee, said Hontiveros.
She also said she is suspending judgment until the House inquiry is finished.
“Mananatili kaming vigilant para patuloy na makapagtayo tayo nang isang malakas at independenteng Senado,” said Hontiveros.
Negros Occidental vice governor Eugenio Jose Lacson described de Lima’s ouster as committee chair “unfortunate.”
In a collegial body, majority rules, said Lacson.
“I believe Senator de Lima was just doing her job, but if the majority … think otherwise, it is their prerogative,” he said./PN
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