Is the Justice Secretary eyeing the Supreme Court top post?
This was one of the questions posed to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima as she testified during the Day 23 trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona's impeachment.
De Lima however said that she will “probably decline” when offered the position.
It was Senator Jinggoy Estrada who asked and told her there are reports that she will replace Chief Justice Renato Corona once convicted.
“Hindi po totoo iyan. Wala po akong alam diyan,” de Lima said.
“Eh kapag inalok po sa inyo ni Pangulong Aquino yung posisyon?” Estrada continued.
“Hindi ko po alam. I'll probably decline,” she replied.
De Lima was testifying before the impeachment court that Corona acted in favor of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when the SC issued a temporary restraining order against the DOJ’s hold departure order.
Estrada then pressed De Lima if she would rather run for senator.
“Hindi ko pa rin po alam. Hindi ko pa po pinaplano ang career ko,” she said.
De Lima landed in the top 12 list of senatorial preference for the May 2013 elections, based on the national survey of Pulse Asia released December last year.
Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo Lacson questioned the legality of DOJ’s issuance of watchlist orders.
The justice secretary told Lacson that though there is no law expressly authorizing DOJ to issue WLO, DOJ Circular 41 allows them to do so.
“Hindi ho ba self-serving ang Circular 41?” Lacson asked De Lima.
“DOJ has the power to issue rules and regulations to carry out in its mandate. Issuing WLO has been a long-recognized institutional power of DOJ,” she answered.
Lacson further expressed his concern that the WLO can be used against “perceived enemies.”
De Lima, however, assured the senator that she doesn't use her power for “improper motives and political vendetta.”
The two had been at odds when De Lima insisted on the arrest warrant against Lacson despite the court’s dismissal of the case filed against the senator over the killings of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and driver, Emmanuel Corbito.
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