VP Binay camp wants De Lima to resign for prioritizing political ambition

The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Monday said Justice Secretary Leila De Lima should resign from her post for supposedly prioritizing her political ambition over the filing of charges against those involved in the pork barrel scam and the Mamasapano massacre. 

 

"If Secretary de Lima has urgent personal matters to attend to like going from point J (Justice Department) to point S (the Senate), she should resign and let someone who will truly seek justice for the millions of Filipinos who have been robbed of their money and for the 44 slain SAF men take over," Binay's spokesperson for political affairs, lawyer Rico Quicho, said in a statement. 

 

De Lima earlier hinted of running for senator in the May 2016 elections, as she asked her friends and supporters to help her get to the "next higher level, like from point J to point S." 

 

Quicho questioned why the DOJ stopped its investigation on the misuse of priority development assistance funds (PDAF) even if it had only filed cases against those who allegedly benefited from the non-government organizations (NGOs) of detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles. 

 

"The Napoles' alleged network is only one of 80 plus NGOs which were identified as involved in the misuse of the P10-billion PDAF. But the DOJ stopped the investigation. Why?" Quicho said.

 

"Ang mahirap nito, mga kalaban sa pulitika pa lang ang kinasuhan nila. Isang kaalyado lang ang kinasuhan nila at inabot pa ng taon bago nila sinampahan ng kaso," he added.

 

The spokesperson was referring to Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) chief Joel Villanueva, who was named as one of the respondents in the last batch of PDAF cases filed by the National Bureau of Investigation. 

 

Quicho also said that the DOJ has so far failed to file criminal charges against those involved in the killing of the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers in the bloody Mamasapano operation last January 25. 

 

"What could be more urgent than hauling to jail those involved the killing of the SAF 44?...We hope the case will be filed soon," he said.

Quicho likewise scored De Lima for supposedly considering the Igleisa ni Cristo crisis more "urgent" than the PDAF scam and the Mamasapano massacre.

The influential group held what they called was a "peaceful assembly" against De Lima's alleged special treatment on the handling of the illegal detention charges filed against its officials.

Vice President Binay had then told De Lima to respect the mass action of the Iglesia, asking her not to meddle in the internal affairs of the influential religious sector.

“Respetuhin natin iyong pagpo-protesta nila... They have to protect their faith. At saka sinisira iyong religious institution,” Binay said. —Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/KG/NB, GMA News