De Lima on Duterte’s anti-crime plan: Does he have superpowers?

Katerina Francisco

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De Lima on Duterte’s anti-crime plan: Does he have superpowers?
(UPDATED) The former justice secretary says the Davao city mayor's anti-crime plan is not doable and cannot be sustained

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday, April 15, reiterated her criticism of presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte’s vow to stop crime within 3 to 6 months, calling it an “impossible” plan that cannot be sustained.

Talagang imposible (really impossible), absolutely not doable [this] 3-month solution. It won’t hold unless he has superpowers to do it,” De Lima said during the Rappler senatorial debate at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

In a forum in Tuguegarao City in January 2016, De Lima also said the Davao City mayor’s plan was not feasible because of the methods with which he plans to achieve that goal. 

The tough-talking mayor earlier said that he would go after criminals and drug lords, and said that he would not hesitate to kill criminals who resist law enforcement authorities.

Duterte and De Lima have long been engaged in a word war. De Lima, as chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) initiated a probe into Duterte’s alleged involvement in the Davao Death Squad that engaged in extra-judicial killings.

De Lima has branded her campaign as one that upholds the rule of law and human rights.

Senatorial candidate Richard Gordon, on the other hand, said Duterte can stop or at least minimize crime in 3 months. The long-time mayor of Olongapo City, Gordon said in an interview after the debate, “You have to involve the people. If people trust you, if they see you’re serious, they will follow.”

 

He added, “Kung ikaw nag-mayor ka na magaling, kaya mo.” (If you became a good mayor, you can do it.)

Update penal code

During the senatorial debate on Friday, De Lima cited other problems in the justice system. For one, she wants to overhaul the Philippines’ penal code to “update and improve the antiquated provisions in the code.”

She also wants to push for changes in the criminal investigation process, to improve the cooperation of prosecutors and investigators and “really beef up their capacity to come up with cases that hold up in court.”

The former justice secretary also emphasized the need to improve the capabilities of law enforcement bodies and the justice sector, which, she said, are sorely lacking in new technology and resources.

Asked by former Akbayan Representative Walden Bello if she was in favor of endowing the CHR with prosecutorial powers, De Lima opposed this proposal, saying it would dilute the mandate of the body.

“The mandate of the CHR is to be a watchdog and to investigate. Let us leave it at that,” she said.

She also said that she was in favor of establishing an office dedicated to prosecuting those involved in extrajudicial killings. 

De Lima, who is running under the administration coalition, also faced questions from Valenzuela Representative Sherwin Gatchalian on accusations of selective justice.

Gatchalian said that administration allies have long been accused of only going after members of the opposition accused of wrongdoing. (READ: Admin shielded allies in PDAF scam prosecution – Baligod)

De Lima belied this, pointing out that administration allies have also faced charges in the pork barrel corruption scandal.

“Hindi naman natin kasalanan na yung pinakamalaking tiwaling official na na-indict sa PDAF ay oppostion. Wala ‘yan sa naging consciousness ng mga investigator. ‘Yung mga fi-nile ng NBI, DOJ nasa korte na. Let those cases take their regular course,” she said.

(It’s not our fault that the most corrupt official who was indicted in the PDAF scam belongs to the opposition. The investigators were not conscious of it. The cases filed by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice are with the courts. Let those cases take their regular course.) – Rappler.com

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