The House Committee on Justice formally served yesterday the show-cause order against Sen. Leila de Lima before the Office of the Senate Secretary and gave her 72 hours to respond why she should not be cited in contempt “for exerting undue influence” on Ronnie Palisoc Dayan, her former bodyguard-driver-lover, directing him to defy the summons of the committee investigating the proliferation of the illegal drugs trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). Her acts caused undue interference in the conduct of the House proceedings where Dayan’s attendance was required.”

It was House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali who personally handed the one-page order to Senate Secretary Lutgardo Barbo.

Fariñas is chair of the House Committee on Rules while Umali is head of the Justice Committee. Both are staunch allies and partymates of President Duterte.

Duterte, Umali, and De Lima are law graduates of San Beda.

Should the senator fail or refuse to comply with the order, the committee said it would be constrained to take appropriate action to cite her in contempt under Section 11 of the Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation of the House of Representatives.

ETHICS COMMITTEE OR PLENARY

Barbo said he would transmit the order to the Senate committee on ethics headed by Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III which will determine whether or not the show cause order has merit.

“So whatever action the committee takes we will know. Sila angmagde-decide (they are the ones who will decide),” he said.

“If they tell me to give the order to Sen. De Lima, then I will follow,” Barbo said.

 “Because based on our process, only senators are allowed to discipline their colleague. Congressmen are not allowed to discipline a senator,” he added.

But Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin M. Drilon, a De Lima ally, wanted the show-cause order handled by the Senate president and the Senate as an institution.

“I would want it discussed in caucus or in plenary in the Senate,” Drilon told Senate reporters after attending the first day of the bicameral conference committee meeting of the Senate and House of Representatives panels tasked to iron out the differing versions of the proposed 2017 P3.35-trillion national budget.

In an interview, Umali said an explanation from the senator, even through her lawyers, would suffice since the panel has already terminated its hearings.

“We don’t have anymore hearings. We just want her to explain so her explanation even through her lawyer will probably suffice unless it becomes necessary that we call her in to explain further if there’s a need for one,” he said.

On De Lima’s “advice” to Dayan not to attend the House hearing, Farinas said “a penalty is imposed upon any person who shall restrain another from attending as a witness or induce disobedience in a summon or refusal to be sworn.’’

Umali said they hope the House can do away with issuing an arrest warrant against De Lima because they want to observe inter-parliamentary courtesy.

CONNECT THE DOTS

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs chaired by Sen. Panfilo Lacson will resume its probe on Monday into the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Roland Espinosa Sr. It will try to find out if Dayan has any connection with Criminal Investigation Division Group (CIDG) Region 8 officials who killed Espinosa inside the Leyte sub-provincial jail in Baybay City last November 8 when the former Albuera mayor reportedly shot at the lawmen who were serving a search warrant.

Lacson said it is already a known fact that Sen. De Lima has links to Kerwin Espinosa since the testimony of Kerwin and Dayan jived during the last hearing of the House Committee on Justice.

During the last Senate hearing, Kerwin said he gave P8 million to De Lima in tranches as campaign contribution, a matter which Dayan confirmed before a House hearing. But the two differed in the year the transactions were made. Dayan said he collected money from Kerwin in 2014. However, Kerwin said it was in 2015.

Lacson said it could have been possible that De Lima visited the town of Albuera during the campaign period of the May, 2016 elections.

“We want to know, did Dayan have any connection with the group at the CIDG? We cannot discount the fact that De Lima’s links with Kerwin is already established due to the statements of Kerwin and Dayan. So we are looking at the possibility. Did Dayan and De Lima went there?” Lacson pointed out.

“Remember that in 2015 all candidates were already going around for the 2016 elections. Where they able to get acquainted when they went to Leyte?” he said.

“That’s what we want to establish also in the upcoming hearing, so that when we draft the committee report, it would all be clear,” added the senator.

De Lima ran for senator and won under the Liberal Party banner in the May elections. She vehemently denied reports linking her to the illegal drugs trade.

NOT A FIRST

The Lower House issuing a “show-cause” order against a senator appears to have a precedent case. Senate records show a similar situation in the feud between then President Ferdinand E. Marcos and then Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. in 1971.

Aquino alleged in his privilege speech that Marcos transferred P26 million from his office to the House of Representatives. The Lower House demanded that Aquino explain his allegations that Marcos committed an illegal act and should resign if he cannot prove his allegations.

“Nagalit ang House. Aquino did not go there. The House demanded that if you cannot prove it, resign,” Sotto said, reading parts of old Senate records.

Sotto told the Manila Bulletin that the Lower House’s order for Aquino to prove his allegation or resign is “more or less the show-cause order” issued by the House of Representatives yesterday to Senator De Lima.

But then Senate Majority Leader Arturo Tolentino and Sen. Leonardo B. Perez said the demand of the House was not directed at the Senate as a whole because whatever Aquino said in his privilege speech was his own. (With a report from  Liezle Basa Iñigo)

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Hannah L. Torregoza and Mario B. Casayuran

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