SENATOR Leila De Lima has asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop the Department of Justice (DOJ) from resolving the cases filed against her in relation to her alleged involvement in the proliferation of illegal drug trading in the state penitentiary.
In De Lima's petition for Temporary Restraining Order filed on Monday, she said that the appellate court should stop the DOJ from deciding the complaints filed against her, claiming that the Office of the Ombudsman has the sole jurisdiction on cases involving public officials.
The Senator also said it would be a waste of time and government resources if the DOJ will still continue to resolve her cases and then later submit its findings to the Ombudsman.
“In this environment, where the President and the DOJ Secretary have complete control and supervision over the work of their subordinates at the DOJ, it is a foregone conclusion that the conduct and the results of the investigation will not be impartial and objective,” De Lima said.
The cases against De Lima filed by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, the National Bureau of Investigation and its former executives Ruel Lasala and Reynaldo Esmeralda, and New Bilibid Prison inmate Jaybee Sebastian have already been submitted for resolution.
De Lima did not appear in the three preliminary investigations conducted by the panel of prosecutors in the DOJ.
She also failed to submit her counter-affidavit answering the complaints against her and instead insisted for the panel to resolve first the motion for inhibition she filed with the DOJ seeking to stop the panel and the DOJ from hearing her cases.
The panel however did not grant her motion and said it will release the resolution on all the cases against her and her motion for inhibition at the same time. (SunStar Philippines)