Notwithstanding his insistence that the House of Representatives possess the power to order the arrest of Senator Leila De Lima, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez admitted that issuing an arrest warrant has practically taken the backseat in the list of priority actions the chamber will pursue in case the senator defies the show cause issued on Wednesday.
In television interviews yesterday, Alvarez acknowledged that aside from triggering a legal confrontation with the Senate, there is likewise a possibility that De Lima will exploit her incarceration to picture herself as the aggrieved party in the on-going controversy.
In one interview, Alvarez also offered his apology for the choice of words a certain congressman used in grilling Ronnie Dayan, a former driver and aide of De Lima, at the re-opening of the New Bilibid Prison drug trafficking inquiry last week.
“You know, as much as possible, ayaw din naming magkaroon ng parang head-on confrontation iyong Senate at saka iyong House of Representatives. In the first place hindi naman ganoon kabigat iyong taong pinag-uusapan dito to cause a head on between two institutions,” he said.
Alvarez said the Lower House will “definitely” seek the disbarment of De Lima, a brilliant election lawyer, which will be filed before the Supreme Court. (Ben Rosario)