The chairman of the House of Representatives committee investigating the drug trafficking operations at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City is giving Sen. Leila M. de Lima another chance to clear her name by showing up in the next hearing of the probe.
Apparently irked by De Lima’s sharp criticisms of the ongoing probe that appeared to have linked her to the illegal drug activities at the NBP, Mindoro Oriental Rep. Reynaldo Umali said that instead of airing to the media her complaints against the House proceedings, she should come in the next hearing to clear her name.
“If she really wants to clear her name and help government stop the proliferation of illegal drugs not just in the NBP but also in the entire country, then she may wish to appear in our next hearing instead of casting aspersions on the integrity of our probe through media,” said Umali in a press statement.
De Lima declared parliamentary immunity in snubbing an invitation for her to appear and face her accusers during the House hearings last Tuesday and Wednesday.
Several witnesses, many of them convicts detained at the maximum security compound of the NBP, implicated De Lima to the alleged drug trafficking operations run by Jaybee Sebastian, who is serving a sentence for kidnapping for ransom. (Ben R. Rosario)