2016 marked the turning of the tides at the Department of Justice which emerged with the change in the nation’s political leadership.
For five-and-a-half years in the previous administration, Senator Leila de Lima led investigation and prosecution of many high-profile cases as Secretary of Justice.
In October this year, the DOJ chief-turned-senator got the receiving end when she was charged with allegedly benefitting from the illegal drug trade in the government-run New Bilibid Prison.
Four criminal complaints were filed against De Lima by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, National Bureau of Investigation, former NBI deputy directors Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala and high-profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian.
She was charged with violations of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, along with her former driver-lover Ronnie Dayan, former DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, former Bureau of Corrections chief Franklin Bucayu, former NBI deputy director Rafael Ragos, among others.
De Lima was also accused of qualified bribery, violations of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees and Presidential Decree 46 or the law on accepting gifts in the NBI complaint filed with the DOJ after a fact-finding investigation.
The complaints were based on testimonies of witnesses, including inmates who testified in the House of Representatives inquiry on the issue, as well as documentary evidence.
They alleged De Lima received drug money from NBP drug lords supposedly in exchange for protection of their illegal activities.
The NBP inmates who testified against De Lima—Sebastian, Herbert Colanggo, Engelbert Durano, Vicente Sy, Wu Tuan Yuan alyas Peter Co and Jojo Baligad—were also slapped with drug trafficking charges as the DoJ would determine their qualification as state witnesses.
Senator De Lima has repeatedly denied the allegation that she protected drug syndicates inside the NBP in exchange for funds for her 2016 election campaign.
She claimed this was all part of the vendetta of President Duterte for her persistent pursuit of his involvement in the Davao death squad since she was chair of the Commission on Human Rights.
The DoJ has started its preliminary investigation on the charges against De Lima. It created a five-member panel and started hearing last Dec. 2.
De Lima has questioned the DoJ’s jurisdiction on the complaints against her and sought their transfer to the office of the Ombudsman, but the DOJ rejected her plea saying it has concurrent jurisdiction on non-graft cases against incumbent officials.
Earlier this month, De Lima was slapped with another criminal complaint by the leadership of the House of Representatives, this time for her alleged attempt to prevent Dayan from testifying in the House inquiry on the NBP drug trade.
House leaders led by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez sought her indictment for violation of Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code or disobedience to summons issued by Congress, its committee or subcommittees.
They cited as basis De Lima’s advice to Dayan to continue hiding and not attend the House probe—which she already publicly admitted.
The DoJ will conduct separate preliminary investigation on the House’s complaint.
The probe on NBP drug trade is part of the war on drugs by the Duterte administration.
Inevitably, De Lima has found herself in a word war with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II—both graduates of the San Beda College of Law—in several instances.
Aguirre publicly announced De Lima had sex videos with Dayan and said these could be used as evidence of their illicit affair.
He also told the senator to stop her hysterics and instead just disprove the charges against her.
De Lima, for her part, slammed Aguirre for manufacturing evidence against her, saying the witnesses were fake just like his toupee or wig.
Towards the end of the year, just when the Duterte administration was embarking on its anti-graft and corruption campaign, another big controversy rocked the DoJ—the reported bribery attempt by Chinese casino mogul Jack Lam and alleged extortion by two Bureau of Immigration deputy commissioners.
Last Nov. 24, Aguirre led the raid on Lam’s Fontana Leisure Park and Casino in Clark Field, Pampanga where 1,316 Chinese illegal workers were arrested.
The DoJ chief revealed that Lam’s camp met with him two days after and asked if he could be his “ninong” (godfather of protector).
Aguirre said he declined the offer made by Lam’s middleman, former police chief superintendent Wally Sombero.
It turned out that Sombero instead met with BI deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles and gave them P50 million supposedly for the release of the arrested Chinese workers.
The payoff took place last Nov.27 at the City of Dreams casino and was caught on CCTV camera.
Lam, who already flew to Hong Kong, has been blacklisted over the illegal casino operation and was ordered arrested by President Duterte for alleged bribery, economic sabotage and harboring illegal aliens.
Argosino and Robles surfaced after two weeks and surrendered P30 million to the DOJ, claiming the payoff was part of their investigation to catch the syndicate in the BI involved in corruption and that they kept the money as “future evidence.”
They denied extorting money and instead accused Sombero of bribery with acting BI intelligence division chief Charles Calima Jr. as a cohort.
They claimed Sombero took P2 million as commission while the P18 million went to Calima supposedly for BI commissioner Jaime Morente and newspaper columnist Mon Tulfo.
The BI officials, fraternity brothers of the President and Sec. Aguirre who also helped during the campaign, initially went on leave of absence.
When Aguirre recommended to Duterte their dismissal from government over the controversy and pending probe by the NBI, Argosino and Robles had by tyhen resigned from their posts. The President also kicked them out of the administration.
Feeling “betrayed” by his men, Aguirre likewise sacked Calima and his technical assistant for intelligence Edward Chan from the bureau.
The DOJ chief consistently said the Duterte administration has no room for corruption in government.
He also believed his actions were not a prejudgment of the extortion allegations against the BI officials.
“The gravity of the accusations calls for their dismissal. This will also prevent the parties involved from interfering with the ongoing investigations,” he told Manila Standard in an interview.
“A public office is a public trust. A public officer should be like Ceasar’s wife, beyond suspicion,” he stressed.
But while the DOJ has taken the forefront in the new administration’s campaign against illegal drugs and corruption, it has not taken an active role in investigating thousands of cases of killings of drug suspects in police operations and by supposed vigilante groups.
The Duterte administration has been criticized by human rights groups over the spate of killings of drug suspects.
So far, the DOJ has only tapped the NBI to probe the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa and fellow inmate Raul Yap by a Criminal Investigation and Detection Group team at the Leyte sub-provincial jail in Baybay City last November.
Despite the President’s stance siding with the CIDG in this issue, the NBI filed charges of murder, robbery, malicious procurement of search warrant, perjury and planting of evidence against 28 members of the CIDG team led by Supt. Marvin Marcos.
The DOJ has created a panel of prosecutors to conduct the preliminary investigation which started on Dec. 20.
The DOJ also handled several cases of killings this year, including the killing of rider John dela Riarte by two Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) personnel last July and the killing of cyclist Mark Vincent Garalde by Philippine Army reservist Vhon Martin Tanto during a road altercation also last July.
Tanto was also indicted before a Manila court for murder and serious physical injury charges last September.
In his first six months, Aguirre has implemented several reforms in the department and its attached agencies.
He first targeted corruption in the NBP and BuCor and conducted a series of Oplan Galugad at the national penitentiary that yielded contrabands.
He has recommended the appointment of new BuCor chief Benjamin De Los Santos.
Aguirre also reassigned two senior prosecutors in the DOJ whom he accused of plotting to oust him – Senior Deputy State Prosecutors Theodore Villanueva and Miguel Gudio Jr.
In separate department orders, he designated Villanueva as acting provincial prosecutor of Guimaras and Guido as acting provincial prosecutor of Compostela Valley.
The DOJ chief also promoted Davao Assistant City Prosecutor Victor Sepulvida to the top position in the National Prosecution Service.
Sepulvida replaces Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, who has been appointed as head of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
Aguirre said more reforms could be expected in the DOJ under his watch in 2017.
For instance, the DOJ chief is pushing for a top-to-bottom revamp of the scandal-ridden Bureau of Immigration, where he exercises administrative supervision, saying a mere revamp won’t do.
“We can move forward if we don’t change the culture and the people,” Aguirre said, even as he expressed little confidence in working with Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, a former Davao police chief.
Last month, Aguirre told DOJ officials and employees his marching order from President Duterte: “To use all the resources of the DOJ to wage war on drugs, corruption and all forms of criminality, particularly the most heinous ones…Absolutely no corruption.”
“We have made great inroads in the War on Drugs. And while we will be relentless in our pursuit to eradicate the drug menace, we now have the time to pursue part two of the President’s marching orders, the War on Corruption,” he said.
He added: “I do not want to be a hypocrite. I cannot go after corrupt people in other government offices in there is corruption in my own backyard.
“We have to clean house first here at the DOJ. We cannot continue having a ‘business as usual’ attitude here in the DOJ. Our only business is rendering justice to the deserving, dutifully and rightfully.”
For those plotting to oust him, the DOJ chief has this message: “For as long as I have President Duterte’s full confidence, trust and unwavering support in pursuing his mandate, I will fully exercise the powers and the prerogatives of my office in achieving the thrusts of the Duterte administration and in serving the Filipino people in the best way that I can.”