(Eagle News) – The Department of Justice filed criminal charges against Senator Leila de Lima before a Quezon City court for advising her then driver-bodyguard Ronnie Dayan to ignore the summons of the House of Representatives to its inquiry on the illegal drug trade.
The DOJ found probable cause in the complaint filed by House leaders who had earlier recommended that charges for obstruction of justice be filed against the senator.
The formal complaint for “disobedience to summons of a National Assembly” was filed against De Lima for her attempt to “restrain another from attending as a witness.” The formal complaint was filed before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court on Wednesday by office-in-charge prosecutor Jorge Catalan Jr.
“We did not conduct any preliminary investigation because under the Rules on Summary Procedure, if the imposable penalty is less than 6 months, we can file it directly [in court] and, in fact, there are cases in which the imposable penalty is 4 years, 2 months, and one day that the investigating prosecutor need not conduct any preliminary investigation,” said OIC Prosecutor Catalan.
De Lima was indicted for violation of Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code concerning the disobedience to summons of a National Assembly.
Because it only involves a light offense, there is no bail required for her case. Authorities are also not expected to serve a warrant for her arrest.
“Respondent’s (De Lima’s) advice to Mr. Dayan through his daughter to hide and not to appear in the house inquiry constitutes an act amounting to restraining another to attend as a witness in the national assembly (now Congress of the Philippines) and inducing disobedience to a summon,” the DOJ resolution stated.
Last week, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez together with Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas and House Committee on Justice chairman and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali filed their complaint against De Lima with the justice department.
If the senator will be found guilty, she could be slapped a fine of P200 to P1,000 and/or prison term of one to six months based on the Revised Penal Code.
Dayan had earlier testified before the House inquiry that De Lima had advised him not to attend earlier House hearings despite receipt of the summons.
De Lima’s instructions were coursed through two text messages sent as a reply to his daughter’s cellphone.
Dayan’s daughter, Hannah May, also testified before the House committee hearing and even showed them her cellphone containing the saved text messages of De Lima who was registered under the name “TL.”
The text messages were sent on October 1, when Dayan’s daughter sought De Lima’s advice as to what action her father would take after they received the House summons.
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