Philippines: Former Justice Secretary faces illegal drug trading charges

Leila De Lima will be facing illegal drug trading charges filed by the Justice Department due to allegations that illegal drugs trading has been rampant in the country's largest prison cell during her term.

Picture for representation
Reuters

The former Department of Justice Secretary and now Senator, Leila De Lima, will be facing illegal drug trading charges filed by the Justice Department due to allegations that illegal drugs trading has been rampant in the country's largest prison cell during her term as Justice Secretary.

A warrant of arrest from Muntinlupa City Court Judge Ameila Fabros-Corpuz was served this week and the co-accused in the arrest warrant also included an individual whose name appeared as Jose Adrian Dera alia Jad De Vera

Another Muntinlupa City court has issued an arrest warrant for Senator Leila de Lima over allegations she allowed the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison during her term as Justice Secretary.

The camp of the former justice secretary defended the De Lima and said they would ask the court to recall the arrest warrant as it describes the complaint as the weakest among the three drug-related cases filed by the Justice Department

The justice secretary-turned-senator is also facing other charges in the courts of Judge Patria Malastas De Leon and Judge Juaminta Guerrero of Branch 206 and Branch 204 respectively. These were the first two cases where a warrant of arrest was first served four months ago.

While waiting for her court trial, the senator is detained at the Philippine National Police in Camp Crame in Quezon City.

The justice department alleged that the former justice secretary conspired with Dera. The complaint stemmed when Dera was reported to demand, solicit and extort money and vehicles from Peter Co, a wealthy inmate in the detention cell.

Moreover, Co collaborated the statement of the Justice Department saying that Dera got P 2million as partial payment for the release of Co's niece. When De Lima was running for senator last year, De Vera also demanded another P 3 million from Co to be used for Delima's senatorial bid expenses.

De Lima's camp decried that the judge insisted on releasing the warrant of arrest order despite the pending petition at the Supreme Court to nullify the arrest warrant.

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