MANILA - The camp of Vice-President Jejomar Binay is not in a position to dictate what the Department of Justice can or cannot investigate, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Friday.Speaking before a gathering of public attorneys in Manila led by the Public Attorney's Office (PAO), De Lima said the more Binay's camp pushes the DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to halt its probe, the more doubts are raised, and the more the investigation should proceed.
"The issue here is not whether or not the DOJ can investigate the vice-president. The issue is, and will remain, whether or not the accusations of systemic corruption in Makati and the amassing ill-gotten wealth are true," she said.
"If the subject of the investigation asks the DOJ to stop, for one reason or another, the commonsense response is not to grant the request but to do the exact opposite: pursue the investigation even further," she added.
De Lima directed the NBI on Thursday to investigate Binay, his family, his alleged dummies, contractors of Makati City projects, and their alleged cohorts in a scheme of plundering the city's coffers. The accusations were made public by Binay's former ally, ex-Makati Vice-Mayor Ernesto Mercado, and several other individuals.
Binay's camp hit the DOJ for ordering the probe, accusing De Lima of engaging in a "political circus," and threatening her of disbarment.
Binay's spokespersons said the DOJ has no jurisdiction over the issue because the vice-president is an impeachable officer.
De Lima, however, said Binay's camp is not in the position to define nor limit her department's powers to investigate.
"It is not up to him (Binay) or his spokespersons to determine the limits of the department's power to investigate impeachable officers; it is only the Supreme Court that can interpret the department's powers of investigation under the law," she said.
"It is also in the same spirit of performing our mandate under the Administrative Code that we are, therefore, now minded to do our own investigation parallel to that of the [Senate Blue Ribbon Committee] and the Ombudsman."
ANSWER ACCUSATIONS
De Lima challenged Binay's camp to answer the allegations instead of raising "irrelevant" matters and accusing the DOJ of politicking.
She stressed that the public deserves to know the truth and this is what Binay, as a public official, should give them instead of "reckless innuendos."
These innuendos do not prove Binay's innocence nor disprove the claims agains him, she stressed.
Binay, in several media interviews and speaking engagements, accused administration allies of conspiring to douse his 2016 presidential bid; he also hit the administration of not dealing with the country's "real problems."
"Rather than question the department's (DOJ's) jurisdiction and priorities, the vice-president should instead directly confront the allegations on the systemic corruption of Makati's procurement system. Rather than question the legal basis for the [Disbursement Acceleration Program], he should confront accusations of amassing ill-gotten wealth," De Lima said.
"To say that the DAP was used by [Budget Secretary Butch Abad] to bribe senators is not a valid defense against the accusations of corruption in Makati. To claim that President [Gloria] Arroyo is innocent and merely being persecuted by this administration despite her illness is not a convincing response to testimonial evidence of unprecedented plunder of local government coffers. To say that he once fed his vice-mayor [Ernesto Mercado] from his own hands only for Mercado to turn against him and that he (Mercado) has 'no utang na loob' is definitely not the best way to impeach a witness."
"To question why I did not release the supposed 5-hour video of Janet Lim Napoles -- and I'm not admitting to the existence of that video 'spilling the beans on administration allies' -- it will never rebut the COA (Commission on Audit) findings of overpricing of hospital beds and medical equipment. To expose the alleged luxury vehicles of Sen. [Antonio] Trillanes will never explain the airconditioned piggery and English garden inside a 350-hectare estate."
"They have said everything except the one thing we really, really seek and need: the truth."
As to the criticism that the DOJ should focus on over investigations and cases, De Lima said Binay's camp should not tell the department what to do and how to do its job.
She stressed that the department should not be selective in its investigations, especially those involving allegations of corruption against government officials.
"Let our record speak for us. In the past 4 years, the DOJ has never shied away from investigating and prosecuting the most controversial cases involving the most powerful politicians and officials. The DOJ investigated a former president (Arroyo), 3 sitting senators (Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Bong Revilla, and Jinggoy Estrada), aside from several congressmen and executive officials and is investigating more. That the case is high profile or involves a powerful politician was never a reason for the DOJ to inhibit from conducting a probe."
"Definitely, it's not a reason for the DOJ to refrain from investigating now. This case is no different. Why would the DOJ now shy away from another investigation of another case of alleged corruption and plunder? If the DOJ does refrain from investigating now, would it not constitute a case of special treatment or dereliction of duty?" De Lima said.
If Binay has nothing to hide, he should welcome the investigation, considering that he has already expressed lack of faith in the ongoing Senate inquiry into the alleged overpricing of Makati City projects and his alleged unexplained wealth, she added.
De Lima also stressed that Binay's camp cannot invoke his so-called immunity from suit in criticizing her move to call for the probe since the NBI investigation will cover not only the vice-president but all those allegedly involved in the "unprecedented corruption allegations" in Makati, all of whom cannot claim any immunity from criminal proceedings.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
