By Benjamin B. Pulta
The Daily Tribune
The Daily Tribune
Whistle-blower Association president Sandra Cam in morning radio interview said Leila de Lima’s Depart-ment of Justice (DoJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) were given P150 million by alleged brains of the pork scam Janet Lim-Napoles for the two agencies to drop the case of serious illegal detention filed by Benhur Luy against her.
Cam said she has the two documents, one, a DoJ dismissal of the serious illegal detention complaint against Napoles, and the second one, the opposite of the dismissal, which was finding probable cause in the case.
She also named the ex-husband of De Lima and Napoles’ lawyer meeting with then NBI director Nonatus Rojas.
Cam said in the interview that the reason the DoJ-NBI came out with the second finding of the same complaint was that the P150 million while given to the NBI and DoJ officials, headed by De Lima, did not trickle down to the lower ranking officials who had threatened to expose this bribe.
De Lima downplayed Cam’s disclosure that officials of the DoJ and the NBI received P150 million in hush money from Napoles.
Cam also called on De Lima Wednesday during the weekly Fernandina Forum in Club Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan to resign her post saying she had already lost her credibility.
De Lima dismissed the claim of Cam saying the accusation is “too much.”
“That’s too much already. It’s not worth my while. These are absolutely hogwash. What’s her problem?”, De Lima told reporters in an ambush interview at the DoJ when asked to comment on the claim.
Cam stressed in her radio interview that it is impossible for De Lima not to know that there were two contrary findings, as she is the DoJ chief and such cases pass through her, even if her signature does not appear in the resolutions.
The DOJ chief stressed such claims and accusations will not dampen her spirit and her mandate even as she said she respects the right of Cam and everybody to air his voice and even call for her resignation.
“I have more important things to do in the matter of the PDAF, about Napoles. These are just some of the important things that I am doing in the fulfillment of my mandate,” De Lima said.
“Are they trying to dampen my spirit and my will? I don’t think they will succeed if that’s their objective, just for me to lose interest in what I am doing. Go ahead that’s their right. I will not prevent them from doing that. That’s the prerogative of anyone. People have different perspectives, people have different impressions about me,” she added.
“Can you also ask them, I’m also wondering what’s their problem. They are trying to destroy me, they are trying to destroy the institution,” De Lima said.
Notwithstanding the resignation call and even a threat from Cam and her group to gather one million signatures to press for her resignation, De Lima said she still believes she has the President’s confidence as well as support from the majority of the public.
“Most people still believe in me and that is what is important for me. The President and the general public’s opinion will be my gauge on whether to reign or not,” she added.
On her claim that she has the support of the the majority of the public and where she bases this claim, she did not say.
Cam said her revelation is only meant to show that the Napoles scam has influenced not just legislators but investigators such as the DoJ.
She said her group is now getting information from the Anti-Money Laundering Council on Napoles’ withdrawal of the P150 million.
“Rojas resigned without even turning over his work to the next chief because, per our source, Rojas got P30 million and the rest was given to DoJ,” she stressed.
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