The Solicitor General has joined the legal battle against Senator Leila de Lima.
The Office of the Solicitor General has tagged Senator Leila de Lima as public enemy no. 1 as he joined the legal battle to pin down the lawmaker.
Earlier, the Department of Justice accused de Lima of having abetted and profited from the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison during her term as Secretary of Justice.
During the launching of the Coalition Against Illegal Drugs on Monday, Solicitor General Jose Calida confirmed he will play a role in the campaign against de Lima.
The senator is now abroad for a speaking engagement, after she was allowed to fly outside the country.
Calida said that de Lima continues to abuse her powers as senator; and there is a need for him to lend his support to the prosecution.
“I am invoking the Solgen’s power as tribune of the people. I will lend the prestige and gravitas of my office to go after de Lima.”
According to Calida, with the OSG weighing in, the cases against de Lima could be strengthened and will proceed faster.
He stressed that what he is doing is not political prosecution, and they are following the rule of law.
Calida declared de Lima as “public enemy no. 1 and the patron saint of narco-politics.”
“Senator De Lima should not be left to her own devious devices. High priestess of hypocrisy. Patron saint of narco-politics. Public Enemy No. 1,” Calida said.
He thinks the senator will eventually seek asylum abroad.
To recall, de Lima was in the US last week to receive an award from human rights groups and addressed a conference on cultural diplomacy in Berlin, Germany last weekend.
On Monday, Calida was present at the launch by various pro-Duterte and anti-drug groups of the Coalition Against Illegal Drugs which has a declared intent to pin down lady senator.
For how many times, de Lima denied allegations for having used her past role as DOJ chief to abet the drug trade at the New Bilibid Prisons, and raising funds for her campaign for the May 2016 polls.
Joining the coalition were the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, Citizens Crime Watch, Republic Defenders, United Filipino Seafarers and Conform Federalism.
According to VACC chairman Dante Jimenez, it is high time for the various groups fighting illegal drugs to be together for what he considered as a crucial point in the campaign.
The coalition members stressed they are deeply dismayed by de Lima’s alleged disregard for legal processes.
They referred to the snubbing of de Lima to DOJ’s preliminary hearing and failure to submit a counter-affidavit.
Jimenez also called on de Lima to return to the country and attend the Dec. 21 (Wednesday) hearing, otherwise it will bolster their suspicion that she has no plans of returning to the Philippines.