THE Senate committee on ethics and privileges has deferred action on a complaint filed against Senator Leila de Lima by a taxpayer who wanted her expelled from the chamber.

Senator Vicente Sotto 3rd, chairman of the committee, said members of the panel were furnished copies of the complaint on Tuesday.

“We have decided to keep it confidential because it might be premature publicity. So therefore, in fairness to everyone, to all concerned, we’d rather keep it confidential,” Sotto said in an interview after the organizational meeting of the committee.

Sotto added that the panel agreed to call for a general counsel to assist them in studying the complaint.

Sotto refused to disclose details of the complaint but in an interview last week, the senator hinted that some of the issues raised by the complainant were based on the allegations of President Rodrigo Duterte, particularly on her alleged involvement in illegal drug operations and immorality.

Asked if the committee will proceed with the investigation if the allegations were based on the actions of de Lima when she was not a senator, Sotto said they will have to study the issue on jurisdiction.

“That is why it is not easy for us to just take over jurisdiction or to dismiss because of the underlying factors,” he explained.

In his two-page complaint, Abelardo de Jesus said de Lima “miserably” failed to uphold the attributes of a public officer as secretary of the Department of Justice and as a senator, which is tantamount to betrayal of public trust.

De Jesus based his complaint on the August 17, 2016 speech of the President during the 115th Police Service Anniversary in Camp Crame wherein he accused de Lima of “collecting money through her driver’ from the narco-inmates at the National Penitentiary to finance her Senate electoral campaign.

The complainant said there is no reason to doubt the veracity of the allegation, considering that it was made by no less than the President.

“Thus, I plead the Senate Ethics Committee to request the Office of the President for these evidentiary matters to warrant and justify the penalty sought to be imposed against Respondent,” de Jesus said in his complaint.

 The complaint charged de Lima with betrayal of public trust, gross misconduct, serious misrepresentation and grievous negligence.

De Jesus said de Lima should be expelled from the Senate.

Harassment

 De Lima dismissed the complaint as part of the harassment tactics against her.

“I have not seen yet any such complaint so I’d rather that I wait first for whatever action, initial or otherwise, that the ethics committee would be taking on that matter,” de Lima said.

“They’re trying to break my spirit but they will never succeed. That will not happen,” she added.

 She expressed confidence that members of the ethics panel will study the matter thoroughly.

 “I respect them as my colleagues. I know that they know what to do,” de Lima said. </s> A criminal case was filed against President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, Netherlands for his alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings when he was still mayor of Davao City, and now as President of the Philippines.

In the 77-page communication submitted to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC, Jude Sabio, lawyer of self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato, accused Duterte of violating the Articles of the Rome Statute through mass murder or extrajudicial executions, which, he claimed, constituted crimes against humanity.

Duterte allegedly committed the crimes during his tenure as mayor of Davao City, through his personal involvement in the so-called Davao Death Squad, and now as President of the Philippines through his war on drugs.

The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the ICC, the first permanent international court that is capable of trying perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression—the statute’s four core international crimes.

The Philippines is a state party to the Rome Statute, together with other 123 state parties, after ratifying it in August 2011.

Apart from Duterte, 11 of his allies including two senators were also charged for violating provisions of the Rome Statute.

Others facing charges at the ICC are Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Richard Gordon, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd, Police National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald de la Rosa, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, former Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno, Supt. Edilberto Leonardo, Senior Police Officer 4 Sanson “Sonny” Buenaventura, Supt. Royina Garma, National Bureau of Investigation Director Dante Gierran, and Solicitor General Jose Calida.

Sabio said Gordon, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights and sponsor of Senate Committee Report No. 18196 on the spate of summary execution of suspected drug trader, is liable for “ultimately concluding that killings are not state-sponsored.”

He added that Cayetano aided and abetted the killings “through his speeches and public pronouncements.”

 Sabio cited in his complaint the similarities in the killings in Davao City and in the drug war.

“The basic material hallmarks or elements in the extrajudicial executions by the Davao Death Squad in Davao City and in the continued extrajudicial executions after President Duterte became the President are too numerous and too obvious to escape scant attention,” he said.

He noted the presence police participation and command; the element of a hitman or an unknown armed assailant; the establishment of a reward system for every killing; the existence of a kill watch list; collaboration between barangay (village) and police officials; cardboard signs and faces or bodies wrapped in packing tape; the use of motorcycle-riding assailants; and planting of guns and drugs.

Sabio said Duterte had completely ignored the appeals of local and international human rights groups and other international bodies to stop the killings.

Also, Duterte’s officials and allies have become instruments in covering up the issue in the media and congressional investigations.

“It is for these reasons that I have referred this case to the ICC to make President Duterte accountable for his crimes in the name of international criminal justice, and to once and for all end this dark, obscene, murderous and evil era in the Philippines,” Sabio said.

After filing the case, the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, will determine whether it falls within the jurisdiction of the ICC and if it is proper to file criminal charges against the accused, before investigating the case and issuing a warrant of arrest against the President and other respondents.

Malacañang on Monday dismissed as “baseless” the complaint filed against President Duterte before the ICC in The Hague.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella suspected that the filing of the case was “meant to create negative news” amid the Philippines’ hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.

“It cannot prosper. International Criminal Court rules provide that the ICC, as a court of last resort, will only exercise jurisdiction over a case once legal remedies in the Philippines have been exhausted. Atty. Sabio or his client, Mr. Edgardo Matobato, did not avail/exhaust all domestic remedies allowed under the Philippine Constitution,” Abella said.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said such complaint would not flourish because there was no basis to allege that Duterte had ordered the extrajudicial killings.

Panelo noted that under the international treaty, murder should have been committed against a class of people, which was not the case in Sabio’s complaint.

“It is not a state-sponsored war in respect to the extrajudicial killings. The [extrajudicial killings]come up because of members of the syndicates who are killing each other, they’re spilling the beans against their own comrades. Those in danger of being prosecuted and arrested would necessarily silence those who are pointing fingers at them,” he told reporters.

“Even assuming that there is police participation in these killings, the police records would show that those who have abused their authority were charged in court. That will negate the claim that it is state-initiated. Otherwise they would have not been charged,” he added.

Matobato last year confessed before the Philippine Senate that he was part of the so-called Davao Death Squad, which was allegedly formed by Duterte to eliminate political opponents and drug addicts.

The ICC complaint was based on the testimonies of Matobato, retired policeman Arturo Lascañas, media reports and reports from rights groups.

Almost 9,000 people have been killed since Duterte assumed the presidency in June 2016. </s> An opposition lawmaker who sought the impeachment of President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday welcomed the filing of a complaint before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague against the chief executive, and said this could signal the way to hold him accountable for his brutal war on drugs.

In a statement, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said he respected the decision of Atty. Jude Sabio, counsel of confessed Davao Death Squad hitman Edgar Matobato, to take to the ICC Duterte’s alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings, which was also the main crux of Alejano’s impeachment complaint against the president.

READ: 1st impeachment complaint filed vs Duterte for killings, graft | Solon files impeach rap vs Duterte over West PH Sea, Benham Rise

“I respect the action of Atty. Sabio to file a case of crime against humanity committed by President Duterte before the ICC. This is the same issue and one of the basis embodied in the impeachment complaint I filed against Duterte last March 16,” Alejano said.

Alejano said the complaint before the ICC is an opportunity for Congress to show it is partial from the president.

“This is an opportunity for Congress to show to the world that it is independent from the influence of the President and prove that it is able and willing to make him accountable of crimes he has committed to the Filipino people,” Alejano said.

In his 77-page complaint, Sabio cited the “continuing mass murder” in the Philippines due to the thousands of Filipinos killed in Duterte’s anti-drug campaign that started when he was Davao city mayor and continues now that he is president.

READ: Duterte, 11 others accused of crimes against humanity before ICC

“Your favorable action on this matter would not only serve the noble ends of international criminal justice, but would also be the beginning of the end of this dark, obscene, murderous and evil era in the Philippines,” Sabio said.

Sabio said the 7,000 drug-related killings in the Philippines in the past seven months have surpassed the 3,000 killings during the two-decade martial law regime of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The police has contested the 7,000 figure, noting that only around 2,600 drug pushers and users were killed in legitimate police operations.

Sabio’s client Matobato has testified in a Senate inquiry about Duterte’s alleged order for the vigilante group Davao Death Squad to kill drug criminals in Davao city.

Also included in the complaint are Duterte’s closest allies – Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, Philippine National Police chief Ronald Dela Rosa, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Senators Richard Gordon and Alan Peter Cayetano, Solicitor General Jose Calida, and former Interior secretary Ismael Sueno, among others. IDL </s> In an extraordinary hearing in the Philippine Senate, a witness claimed President Rodrigo Duterte paid him to carry out executions that involved, among other things, feeding a body to a crocodile, chopping up corpses and murder by packing tape.

The witness, Edgar Matobato, spoke to Filipino lawmakers at Senate hearings investigating a recent wave of extra-judicial killings that has claimed more than 3,000 lives as part of the president's anti-drug campaign.

Matobato said he spent years working as part of the so-called "Davao Death Squad," a group of killers associated with the president's time as a city mayor.

Matobato's claims, which have not been independently confirmed, linked President Duterte and his son, Paolo Duterte, to a list of crimes worthy of a gangster film.

He said he and fellow assassins referred to then-mayor Duterte using the code name, "Charlie Mike," and he ordered them to kill dozens of people ranging from drug pushers, to the dance-instructor boyfriend of Duterte's sister, to a millionaire hotelier.

"People in Davao City were like chickens - they were being killed without any reason," said Matobato.

The hearing's chair, Senator Leila de Lima, is a longtime critic of Duterte's human rights record. She said she saw the testimony as a step toward truth and justice for victims of the president's alleged purges, past and present. "People deserve to know," she said.

A Duterte ally present at the hearing, Senator Alan Cayetano, dismissed Matobato's sworn testimony as "lies," questioning his credibility and casting the whole process as a politically motivated plot against the president. A spokesman for the president denied the allegation.

The dramatic scene at the Senate on Thursday showed a country divided at home and struggling to keep its balance on the global stage.

Duterte swept to power this spring promising to crackdown on crime, just as he did as the longtime mayor of Davao, where he earned a reputation for strongman tactics and was christened "the death squad mayor" for allegedly overseeing extra-judicial killings.

During this year's campaign Duterte did not shy away from his "death squad" moniker, promising he would kill 100,000 criminals in six months.

"When I become president, I'll order the police and the military to find these people and kill them. The funeral parlors will be packed. . . I'll supply the dead bodies," he said.

Since he took office in July, some 3,000 people have been murdered. Duterte initially seemed to urge the killers on, but has more recently tried to distance himself from extra-judicial killings and summary executions.

The deaths have been condemned by the United Nations and questioned by President Barack Obama. Duterte has shrugged off all criticism, instead railing against U.S. colonialism in the saltiest possible terms.

The president's undiplomatic comments and erratic approach to foreign policy has the U.S. worried.

The Philippines, a onetime U.S. colony, is a close ally of the United States. With China pressing its claims to most of the South China Sea, the U.S. and Philippine sides have for several years been moving toward greater military cooperation.

But Duterte's rise puts that in question. After his profanity-laced comments about Obama at a recent summit, Duterte called for the withdrawal of U.S. special forces from the island of Mindanao. He also announced he will buy weapons from the Chinese.

Duterte has yet to comment on Wednesday's hearing. </s> SUPPORTERS of President Rodrigo Duterte called on the House of Representative to support their impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), led by Dante Jimenez; lawyer Eligio Mallari of Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution; and lawyer Larry Gadon made the call as they seek to file two separate impeachment complaints against Sereno.

Sereno is accused of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution for allegedly granting allowances and other perks to herself and her staff in foreign trips abroad; preventing lower court justices from issuing warrants of arrest against Senator Leila de Lima on drug related charges; and acquiring a P9 million bulletproof luxury car, among others.

“I believe in the strength of the complaint because the witnesses of her impeachable offenses are the Supreme Court justices themselves,” Jacinto Paras, who serves as one of the legal counsels of VACC, said on Wednesday.

An impeachment complaint cannot be considered verified, meaning filed before the House of Representatives, without an endorser from the ranks of the House.

VACC and the rest of those seeking Sereno’s impeachment have yet to find endorsers for their impeachment complaints.

Jimenez, however, downplayed the role of an endorser.

“Yes, having an endorser is part of the process, but still, isn’t it enough that we are taking courage against the Chief Justice? Whether we get an endorsement or not, I don’t care,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez, however, quickly made a turnaround and admitted that an endorsement was necessary for their impeachment complaint to prosper.

“Of course, we expect the lawmakers to take a look on the merits of this case and make the necessary endorsement,” Jimenez added. </s> “The retraction of testimonies would be used by people supporting De Lima to join another people-power to oust President Rodrigo Duterte. If the revolution wins, all high profile inmates who recanted their testimonies will be released from prison: that was promised to them,” said Aguirre in a TV interview. Their earlier testimonies at the senate nailed de Lima’s alleged involvement in illegal narcotics trade.

After emerging from the Senate where she was arrested at eight Friday morning, De Lima said, “I have the honour to be imprisoned for something I’m fighting for [questioning alleged human rights violation of President Duterte]. I am innocent. There is no truth to the lies I am charged with — that I benefited from illegal drug trade. The truth will come out at the right time.” Senator Francis Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party that was once led by former President Aquino, said, “The LP is not involved in any bribe-giving of witnesses. This is ridiculous.” “Sen. De Lima has accepted her current situation. She has realised that this is a process that she has to go through. She’s OK, she’s holding up and well, she’s a very courageous woman and very strong-willed. We’re here to lend our moral support for her,” said Pangilinan. Government’s chief legal counsel, Salvador Panelo also said, “She is now given the opportunity to refute any and all allegations and/or evidence to be presented by the prosecution against her.” But former whistle blower Sandra Cam called De Lima a coward and held a protest rally in front of the Senate when De Lima went there to hide and evade arrest late Thursday. While in hiding at the Senate, De Lima confessed, “I feel less safe if arrested in the evening. I will stay here in the Senate and wait for the sun to rise.” Arresting officers arrived at the office of the Senate Sargeant- at-Arms at 11 Thursday evening, At the time, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Interior Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueno agreed that De Lima should be arrested at eight Friday morning. De Lima was the highest official ever indicted for alleged involvement in illegal drug trade, Duterte said, adding that lawmakers, local government officials, and top ranking policemen are protecting international and local drug lords. De Lima has led local and international rights groups in criticising Duterte’s campaign against illegal drug trade which has killed more than 7,700 since July. Because of irregularities, Duterte barred the police from the campaign. The police admitted responsibility for 2,500 deaths, and blamed drug syndicates for the rest of the fatalities. Illegal drug trade has reached $4.8 billion a year in the Philippines in 2013, authorities said. </s> 'The stabbing of Jaybee Sebastian also puts a serious cloud of doubt on the veracity of his testimony and those of other inmates made to testify who may all very well be fearful for their lives'

MANILA, Philippines – Senators from the Liberal Party on Sunday, February 12, slammed the impending release of an arrest warrant against their party mate, Senator Leila de Lima.

LP President Senator Francis Pangilinan, Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin Drilon, and Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said the release of an arrest warrant without "credible evidence" is a violation of the law.

The 3 slammed the testimonies of high-level inmates against De Lima before a House probe, citing the "Bilibid riot" involving inmate Jaybee Sebastian, which was supposedly meant to coerce him to testify. (READ: De Lima: What Bilibid riot? Gov't wants to threaten inmates)

"Filing charges and issuing warrants of arrest without credible evidence or witness is illegal and unjust – whether ordinary Filipino or senator. The stabbing of potential witness Jaybee Sebastian also puts a serious cloud of doubt on the veracity of his testimony and those of other inmates made to testify who may all very well be fearful for their lives," the LP senators said in a joint statement.

Despite Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II’s denial, documents from the Bureau of Corrections show that he allowed the VIP treatment of the inmates in exchange for their testimonies that De Lima facilitated the drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.

The senators also called on the Department of Justice to follow the rule of law by supporting the Ombudsman’s investigation into the drug charges filed against the lady senator.

The Ombudsman, they added, has primary jurisdiction over cases against public officers covered by the Sandiganbayan Law, specifically the Violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act filed against De Lima.

The LP senators also warned that cases are being used by the administration as "political tool, propaganda, and smokescreen or distractions for the public."

"We also call on the public to remain vigilant and to cultivate a discerning eye and a critical mind for truth and justice," they said.

Aguirre has said the arrest warrant against De Lima would be released "anytime soon."

De Lima also earlier said she received reports that the DOJ is filing the cases before regular courts to expedite the release of an arrest warrant against her. – Rappler.com </s> No member of the House of Representatives came forward on Tuesday to endorse the impeachment complaint by a group of lawyers against Vice President Leni Robredo in the second attempt to unseat her in two months.

Facing the House media, lawyer Bruce Rivera, one of the complainants, insisted that the complaint was “received” by a congressman but would not identify him or explain why the filing did not take place as announced.

Under the 1987 Constitution, an impeachment complaint may only be filed by a non-House member if it is endorsed by a congressperson.

“Think all you want. You can make it look like that,” Rivera said in reply to persistent questions about whether his group experienced difficulty in finding a House member to endorse their impeachment complaint.

“When we were forming it, [the congressman] already reached out, saying we should go through with it… It’s just that we have to be a little circumspect,” the lawyer said.

He acknowledged that President Duterte had publicly repudiated any attempt to impeach Robredo, and that his group was facing an uphill climb in the House, where Robredo served as Camarines Sur congresswoman before rising to the vice presidency.

Earlier Tuesday, Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said the “Impeach Leni” group should secure an endorsement from a House member first before their impeachment complaint could be entertained under the rules.

“If those who file later do not get an endorsement, then it’s just a scrap of paper,” he told reporters.

At the briefing, Rivera could not immediately produce copies of the complaint, which he said amounted to about 30 pages, for the media, as the only validated copy was still with the unidentified congressman.

He, however, gave some details on the grounds cited and the purported evidence against Robredo.

Rivera said the impeachment complaint accused the Vice President of betrayal of public trust, culpable violations of the Constitution, and graft and corruption.

He said Robredo, as one of the sovereign leaders of the Philippines, betrayed the republic when she delivered a recorded speech to a United Nations panel meeting strongly criticizing the administration’s war on drugs.

He said the Vice President’s words were “reckless and irresponsible,” noting disavowals by the Philippine National Police and other government agencies about her claims in the recorded message, including an allegation about a “palit-ulo” scheme, literally meaning “exchanging heads” of those on drug watch lists with their friends or family.

Rivera also accused Robredo of misdeclaring her assets in her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), when she only put in her shares in Meralco as a “business interest” without giving any amount.

He also ascribed irregularities to Robredo when she still chaired the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, saying Pagibig funded a convention in the United States that was not about housing but about social empowerment.

Robredo is the nominal leader of the Liberal Party. In December she quit President Duterte’s Cabinet as housing secretary over policy and political differences and emerged as a leading opposition figure.

In March, Marcos loyalists Oliver Lozano and Melchor Chavez submitted to the Speaker’s office an impeachment complaint alleging that Robredo betrayed the public trust for her six-minute video to the 60th United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs annual meeting in Vienna.

Asked if his group also provided Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez with a copy of the complaint, Rivera would not confirm or deny, saying only: “We respect Speaker’s position but we don’t want to ruffle his feathers there.”/rga </s> Lawmakers who are allies of President Rodrigo Duterte defended the Chief Executive from a complaint for crimes against humanity filed before the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

The criminal complaint is going to the trash bin because the ICC is a court of last resort, Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque said in a statement, calling the ICC complaint “premature, suspect and bound to fail.”

The ICC, of which the Philippines is a state party, is the court of last resort, and a petitioner may only file a case before the ICC after exhausting all legal remedies in the home country.

“The Principle of Complementarity provides that the ICC will only exercise jurisdiction when Philippine courts are unwilling or unable to do so. There are various remedies available within our legal framework that have yet to be exhausted,” Roque said.

Roque lamented that the criminal complaint was filed just as the country is set to host the Asean summit, obviously intended to discredit the administration.

“Thus, it appears that the filing of this letter at this moment is an attempt to discredit the President and the Philippine government as the ASEAN Summit begins. It is regrettable how maneuvers like this to cast a negative light upon the Philippines have become more and more common,” Roque said.

Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles said the ICC complaint was only intended to destabilize the government and weaken the public support for the President.

“The case filed against the President in the ICC, as most Filipinos know, is the latest step in the destabilization plot against the Duterte administration. This is complete waste of time because any lawyer would say there is no basis to prosecute the President for alleged crimes against humanity,” Nograles said.

He said the complaint has no clear evidence, adding that it is a case of forum shopping because the impeachment complaint against Duterte for his alleged role in extrajudicial killings is bound to fail.

READ: Solon files impeach rap vs Duterte over West PH Sea, Benham Rise | 1st impeachment complaint filed vs Duterte for killings, graft

“Clearly, those who seek to topple President Duterte are forum-shopping for a court sympathetic to their complaint. If they can’t get the President impeached by Congress, then they can use that as reason to appeal to the ICC to take cognizance of their complaint,” Nograles said.

“In other words, since they know they don’t stand a chance in Congress, they have just gone to the ICC in advance,” he added.

Surigao Del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said the ICC complaint is nothing more than an attempt for the complainant Atty. Jude Sabio to get his three minutes of fame at the expense of the President.

“Note that no single piece of evidence was offered to directly link the accused to the commission of the crimes being charged against them,” Barbers said, noting that A Sabio offered as evidence the findings of the Human Rights Watch even though the latter was not a fact-finding body.

In his 77-page complaint, Sabio cited the “continuing mass murder” in the Philippines due to the thousands of Filipinos killed in Duterte’s anti-drug campaign that started when he was Davao City mayor and continues now that he is President.

READ: Duterte, 11 others accused of crimes against humanity before ICC

“Your favorable action on this matter would not only serve the noble ends of international criminal justice, but would also be the beginning of the end of this dark, obscene, murderous and evil era in the Philippines,” Sabio said.

Sabio said the 7,000 drug-related killings in the Philippines in the past seven months have surpassed the 3,000 killings during the two decade martial law regime of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The police has contested the 7,000 figure, noting that only around 2,600 drug pushers and users were killed in legitimate police operations.

Sabio in filing the ICC complaint represented Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed member of the Davao Death Squad who admitted to killing drug suspects in Davao City upon Duterte’s orders.

Matobato has testified in a Senate inquiry about Duterte’s alleged order for the vigilante group Davao Death Squad to kill drug criminals in Davao City when Duterte was mayor.

Also included in the complaint are Duterte’s closest allies – Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, Philippine National Police chief Ronald Dela Rosa, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Senators Richard Gordon and Alan Peter Cayetano, Solicitor General Jose Calida, former Interior secretary Ismael Sueno, among others.
Pío García-Escudero, the President of the Senate also testify as a witness in the same investigation.