THE group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption on Sunday called for the resignation of Senator Leila de Lima following its filing of criminal and disbarment charges against her.
VACC founding chairman Dante Jimenez said it would be better for De Lima to quit to allow an impartial investigation on the charges against her”•especially those by her former subordinates at the Justice Department that she headed in the previous administration.
“It will be better for Senator De Lima to resign for the good of public service,” Jimenez told reporters.
He said his group and other organizations against crime, illegal drugs and government corruption will initiate a “Resign De Lima” movement after the holidays this week.
The VACC earlier filed drug trafficking charges against De Lima at the Justice Department for her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison.
Last week, the VACC also filed a disbarment complaint against De Lima over her reported extramarital affair with her former driver Ronnie Dayan.
The VACC was joined by former National Bureau of Investigation deputy directors Ruel Lasala and Reynaldo Esmeralda in filing its complaints.
VACC lawyer Ferdinand Topacio urged De Lima to refrain from muddling the issues against her by finger-pointing and blaming other personalities for her ordeal.
“De Lima is trying to muddle the issue by finger-pointing when she should be explaining to the people why scores of witnesses”•not only Bilibid inmates but former subordinates, aides and colleagues in the Department of Justice”•have testified clearly and emphatically that she masterminded the transformation of the National Bilibid Prison into the hub of the nationwide drug trade, making the NBP her personal cash cow,” Topacio said in a statement.
“Her general protestations of innocence and empty claims that the evidence are ‘fabricated’ and the witnesses ‘tortured and intimidated’ ring hollow in the face of numerous interlocking testimonies corroborated not only by each other but by the findings of a Congressional inquiry.”
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II earlier urged De Lima to answer the charges against her in formal proceedings instead of resorting to personal attacks on her accusers.