Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Monday scored Senator Leila de Lima for calling the House of Representatives, which is set to conduct an investigation on the alleged illegal drug operations inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), a “kangaroo court.”
In a radio interview, Alvarez said the House of Representatives, in accordance with the principle of separation of powers, can conduct investigations in aid of legislation.
“Dapat mag-isip-isip muna siya sa mga sinasabi niya dahil tandaan niya...mayroon tayong separation of powers... Kami, we belong to the legislative branch. Hindi po kami puwedeng, we cannot act as if we are in the judiciary branch,” Alvarez said.
“Kami ay nagsasagawa lamang ng imbestigasyon in aid of legislation. We cannot usurp the powers of the judiciary. We do not even have prosecutorial function o prosecutorial power. So hindi po tama na sasabihin na kangaroo court iyan," he added.
A newspaper report quoted De Lima as saying the House inquiry, which has yet to be scheduled, is “Duterte’s kangaroo court” and that “there is no legitimate, bona fide agenda.”
Alvarez rebuffed De Lima’s claim that the House inquiry has no legitimate agenda, and even scored the senator for her committee’s probe on extrajudicial killings and summary executions.
“Bakit kung siya ang mag-iimbestiga, tama? Tapos 'pag 'yung House of Representatives ang mag-iimbestiga, hindi tama?” Alvarez, a close ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, said.
“'Yung walang agenda, 'yung wala talagang totoong pakay in relation to a legislative purpose 'yung kanyang ginagawang imbestigasyon doon sa Senado,” he added.
Last week, the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights chaired by De Lima held a two-day investigation on extrajudicial killings and summary executions supposedly committed since Duterte took his oath of office in June.
Alvarez said the Senate investigation was a waste of time.
“Ngayon, sige, tanungin ko siya, kung mapatunayan niya na mayroong summary execution, so what? Kung anuman ang makuha niya doon, ire-refer pa rin niya sa Department of Justice iyan. Kasi wala naman siyang prosecutorial power,” the lawmaker argued.
House Resolution No. 105 authored by Alvarez and 10 other congressmen seeks a “comprehensive investigation” on the proliferation of drug syndicates inside the NBP.
The lawmakers cited a raid conducted by De Lima, then secretary of the Department of Justice, and operatives from the National Bureau of Investigation in December 2014, wherein they discovered makeshift shabu laboratories, and confiscated illegal items such as illegal drugs, firearms, money, jewelry, and gadgets.
“Ano ang dahilan, nagkaroon ba ng maluwag na pamamahala dito at napayagan natin 'yung mga preso na magluto ng shabu kung nagluluto man nga ba ng shabu doon sa loob ng Bilibid prison? Kailangan po nating alamin ito dahil serious concerns ito ng gobyerno,” Alvarez said.
“Ano ang nangyari? Hindi ba kailangan alamin natin iyan? Gusto mo ipikit na lang natin 'yung mata natin kung bakit nangyari 'yung mga ganoong bagay na hindi naman dapat mangyari in the first place?” he added.
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