Vindictiveness, int’l rights group says of raps vs De lima

Criminal court proceedings begin Monday on drug charges against Sen. Leila de Lima that the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) had condemned as “an act of political vindictiveness.”

“It’s more important than ever that concerned lawmakers and foreign governments step up to denounce the Duterte administration’s disregard for basic human rights,” Phelim Kine, HRW deputy Asia director, said in a statement on Sunday.

Sought for comment, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said the criminal cases brought against De Lima were based on documentary evidence and testimonies of witnesses.

“There is absolutely no basis for the claim that the cases were politically motivated. This government will prosecute any person regardless of their influence or relationship with the officials running the government,” Panelo told the Inquirer over the phone.

“This government will apply the law on whoever is involved (in criminal activities),” he stressed. “It’s up to the court to decide whether (De Lima) should be convicted or acquitted.”

The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) is set to raffle off today the case to any of its branches. Depending on the appreciation of the assigned branch of the merits of the case, an arrest warrant could be issued immediately or within a period of 10 days.

On friday the department of Justice (DOJ) filed the complaint against De Lima, alleging that she violated Section 5 of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which penalizes—from 12 years to life imprisonment—the “sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of illegal drugs.”

Arch-critic

“The prosecution of Sen. Leila de Lima is an act of political vindictiveness that debases the rule of law in the Philippines,” Kine said.

The case against her, Kine said, “shows how Mr. Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ threatens not only the thousands of people targeted, but also the criminal justice and political systems.”

De Lima has been critical of Mr. Duterte when she was chair of the Commission on Human Rights, saying he was behind a Davao City death squad of criminals when he was still the city mayor.

As a senator, she also incurred the ire of Mr. Duterte when she raised the possibility of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects by the police. More than 7,000 people have been killed in the drug war, including 2,200 in police operations.