Lacson defends De Lima amid resignation calls

For a change, Senator Panfilo Lacson is not after Justice Secretary Leila de Lima's head. On Monday, Lacson, a known critic of De Lima, defended the latter amid calls from the camp of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her to resign over the controversy surrounding the supposed political asylum bid of the ex-Philippine leader in Dominican Republic. De Lima earlier disclosed that her department was verifying information they received that Mrs. Arroyo had sought asylum in the Carribean country, which has no extradition treaty with the Philippines. But reports have it that Dominican Republic Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso has said that his government had not received any application for asylum from Mrs. Arroyo, who now represents Pampanga's second district in the House of Representatives. In siding with De Lima, Lacson said: "This time I will defend Sec. de Lima. Walang karapatan ang kampo ni dating PGMA na manawagan kay Sec. de Lima mag-resign dahil sa sinasabing peddling lies." "For nine long years, they (Arroyos) have been peddling lies, ang dami nilang niloko. They should be the last persons to call for the resignation of Sec. De Lima kung ang issue ang sinasabi nilang nagpe-peddle ng lies sa asylum issue," he added. At Malacañang, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said all members of the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the President. "Nagkakaroon ng [performance] check but it’s more of ‘yung tasks na naibibigay talaga sa kanila ng Pangulo," Valte said. "Kami po kasi we all know that we serve at the pleasure of the President and, kami po, hihintayin na lang po namin ‘yung advise ni Pangulong Aquino." 'Too much media' Valte earlier said De Lima was just asked a question about the reported bid of asylum bid and the secretary merely "replied matter-of-factly that the information was unverified." Still, Lacson had a few things to say to De Lima for allegedly accepting the report of Mrs. Arroyo's supposed bid as a fact. "That’s the problem when you deal with media too much. I hope she learns her lessons, at least she’s in hot water at least from the camp of Mrs. Arroyo. She should be more prudent this time. Kailangan may ammunition ka bago bumaril," he said. Public apology? For his part, Senate Majority Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto III asked De Lima to issue a public apology. "Pag naniwala ka sa text na hindi mo bine-verify, you owe [the] public [an] apology," Sotto said in a separate interview. "Yun ang isa sa pinakamabigat, dapat pag-secretary of justice ka, ‘wag kang maniniwala sa lahat ng text na natatanggap mo, dahil pagnaniwala ka sa lahat ng text na natatanggap mo, magugunaw ang buong mundo kahapon pa, di ba? Pag department secretary ka napaka-daling magtanong doon sa embahada," he added. But Lacson maintained that De Lima shouldn't have to apologize for it. "Somewhat, yeah, may embarrassment na involved. But then, depende sa context ng pagkasabi niya. I think she has explained it enough, di sa kanya galing ang information, kundi ni-relay lang niya ang tanong ng media na sinabi niyang ive-verify niya," he said. — Kimberly Jane Tan and Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News