SENATOR Leila de Lima will be safe at the Philippine National Police detention center if the court orders her incarceration while undergoing trial for illegal drugs charges, PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa said Saturday.
Dela Rosa said the detention facility at the PNP’s Camp Crame headquarters would be the most appropriate facility for the senator because it is the most secure facility in the country.
“I’m offering that facility for her to have complete protection because she is a senator,” Dela Rosa said shortly after emerging from the Philippine Military Alumni homecoming in Baguio City.
“I promise her she will be very, very safe inside Camp Crame,” he said.
But Dela Rosa clarified the court has not issued a commitment order against the senator who is facing a string of criminal charges, including drug trafficking, qualified bribery and graft, among others.
Aside from De Lima, 17 other respondents were named in the complaint, including her driver/lover Ronnie Dayan, former aide Joenel Sanchez and former Bureau of Corrections officials Franklin Bucayu and Rafael Ragos.
In case De Lima is put behind bars in Camp Crame, she will be joining former senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada, whom she prosecuted for their alleged involvement in the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund scam in 2015.