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BY Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
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MANILA – The ouster of Sen. Leila de Lima from the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights was a “collective decision,” said Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito.
Sen. Manny Pacquiao moved to declare the committee chairmanship and memberships vacant following Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s privilege speech criticizing de Lima’s efforts to discredit the President.
“Members of the majority were already concerned with the effects of continuous efforts to destroy President Duterte. It is dragging the whole country down as evidenced by the international media’s portrayal of the Philippines at present,” Ejercito said referring to the hearings on the killings of drug suspects.
The senator from San Juan City, who was among the 16 senators who voted in favour of replacing de Lima, urged the public to give the three-month-old Duterte administration a “chance.”
“Any uprising or upheaval will not be good for the country at this point in time. We have had two EDSA revolts and it did not help improve our country’s situation. Any uprising is polarizing, it will just divide out people further,” he added.
Ejercito also rejected de Lima’s allegation that President Rodrigo Duterte was behind her ouster as the chairman of the justice and human rights panel.
“Honestly, Malacañang did not have a hand in this move. It is the majority of the senators’ decision who were all concerned,” he said.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian explained that voting against de Lima will put a stop to the fulfilment of her “personal political vendettas.”
He has no doubts they made the “right” decision, said Gatchalian.
“I trust that my dear colleague, Sen. Richard Gordon, will now lead the Justice Committee the way it should be led – with objectivity, dignity, and integrity.”
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, for his part, reminded the senators to be “objective” and “impartial” and avoid using their committees to grandstand and attack other people for personal gain.
The hearing on the reported extra-judicial killings, according to Sen. Grace Poe, should focus on the “evidence” and the “testimonies” of the resource persons, and not on the personalities leading the inquiry.
“I believe that the case should be heard without the suspicion of bias against the chair or any of the committee members for that matter. Otherwise the committee and the public get distracted with possible grandstanding, polar bickering and partylines,” Poe said.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri expressed disappointment that some senators use the Senate investigations for their own benefit.
Zubiri encouraged them to instead file an impeachment case against the President than transform the Senate into “political circus.”
Other senators who voted for de Lima’s ouster were senators Cayetano, Gordon, Pacquiao, Aquilino Pimentel III, Panfilo Lacson, Cynthia Villar, Gregorio Honasan, Juan Edgardo Angara, Joel Villanueva, Nancy Binay, and Loren Legarda.
Voting for or against the removal of de Lima as panel chairwoman was “unnecessary” and “unprecedented,” Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said.
“Now, our institution’s independence is seriously put to the test,” Aquino said as he urged the new committee leadership and memberships to ensure “fair” and “unbiased” hearings.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the senator’s ouster on Monday was a “numbers games.”
“Yesterday’s vote is also a stark reminder that, as Senators, we must remain vigilant and ensure that the Senate, as an institution, remains independent as it performs its constitutional role and duty as a check and balance on other branches,” he also said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said she saw “no overwhelming reason” to oust de Lima. Issues regarding de Lima’s objectivity should instead be taken before the Committee on Ethics, said Hontiveros.
Also siding with the former Justice secretary was Sen. Franklin Drilon. Senators Ralph Recto and Antonio Trillanes IV abstained from the vote./PN
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