By MARK MERUEÑAS, GMA News
Justice Secretary Leila De Lima on Tuesday admitted that her decision to request the cancellation of the passports of three senators and 34 other people embroiled in the pork barrel fund scam could be contested before the Supreme Court.
"It’s always a legal issue, things like that. That is a novel issue and therefore since it’s a novel issue, that can be raised," De Lima told reporters in an interview in Manila.
Last Thursday, the DOJ asked the Foreign Affairs Department to cancel the passports of Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. and 34 others implicated in an alleged scam involving the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). All are facing charges of plunder, malversation and corruption of public officials before the Office of the Ombudsman.
De Lima dismissed accusations that the cancellation request was premature since no cases have been formally filed with the Sandiganbayan yet.
"Kaya nga naisipan namin na humanap ng tamang basehan para siguraduhin na 'yung ating mga kinakasuhan mapapaharap sa proseso ng batas. Naisipan namin iyan kaysa by the time 'yung kaso nasa Sandiganbayan na, ilan sa kanila o baka karamihan sa kanila wala na po sa atin," she said.
The three senators were accused of pocketing portions of their PDAF: Revilla (P224.5 million in alleged kickbacks), Enrile (P172.8 million) and Estrada (P183.79 million).
Revilla's camp has branded De Lima's request "ridiculous," while Estrada had scheduled to go abroad to accompany her supposedly ailing wife but vowed to return.
Last week, De Lima said the government will next request the cancellation of the passports of individuals implicated in another fund mess: the Malampaya gas fund controversy, to which detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles' firms—just like in the PDAF fund mess—have likewise been linked. — BM, GMA News
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