MALACAñANG on Thursday accused Senator Leila de Lima of negligence in the anti-drug and criminality campaign during her term as Justice secretary.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said De Lima, who served as Justice secretary under the Aquino administration, had already been told of the drug problem inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa involving drug lords.
“My question to you is, the President is telling you by public pronouncements that in Muntinlupa, there is shabu being cooked,” Panelo told the Manila Standard.
“But it took you years to even look into the problem of drug lords lurking inside [the New Bilibid Prisons].
“Assuming that you have done something, why is it that until now the illegal drug trade haven’t been stopped? It means that you haven’t done your work thoroughly and that would only mean negligence during your term.”
In response, De Lima said Panelo’s statement was just one of the vicious attacks against her by the officials of the Duterte administration and his allies following her push for a congressional inquiry into the summary executions of drug suspects.
She said her critics and detractors were trying hard to malign her good name and reputation in order to discredit her.
“I will not go into that good night without nary a whimper while all these misguided men use the President’s war against drugs as their platform to destroy any elected public official who dares question the methods by which this war is waged,” De Lima said.
On Tuesday, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said De Lima was under investigation for her alleged links to the illegal drug trade.
De Lima responded through a privilege speech the next day, slamming the officials of the Duterte administration for allegedly carrying out a “demolition job” against her.
But Duterte went soft on De Lima in a speech the same day after De Lima vowed to investigate the rising body count in the war against illegal drugs through a Senate inquiry.
“I do not blame De Lima. That’s her job,” Duterte said.
De Lima has filed a Proposed Senate Resolution 9 that will investigate, in aid of legislation, the alleged extra-judicial killings and summary executions in the Duterte administration’s war against drugs.
Malacañang said it had no problems with De Lima’s initiative.
“We welcome the investigation. We have no problem,” Panelo said as he repeated Duterte’s message that there would be a “relentless campaign against drug lords and there will be thorough campaign on extra-judicial killings.”
