Abogado ka ba talaga? De Lima calls ‘close-minded’ Teddyboy Locsin: To brush up on criminal procedure




Photo courtesy of MSN and The Manila Times


Manila, Philippines - Senator Leila de Lima lectured Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. for his "idiotic" remarks against the US Senate resolution which calls for sanctions against PH officials responsible for orchestrating her arrest and prolonged detention.

Secretary Locsin called US resolution calling for sanctions for De Lima’s illegal detention as “idiotic” and citing the separation of powers and the independence of nations, the Philippines’ top diplomat criticized on Sunday, December 15, Resolution No. 142 recently passed by the US Senate foreign relations committee.



“Idiotic. Even a Philippine Senate resolution is not one of the ways of ending a criminal trial; there's only acquittal or conviction or dismissal by a demurrer to evidence,” Locsin earlier Tweeted.

“But a US Senate resolution? Aside from separation of powers there's the independence of nations,” the DFA Secretary added.

Locsin claimed that a mere resolution either by the Philippine Senate or United States Senate is “not one of the ways of ending a criminal trial.”



However, De Lima emphasized to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. “It is not hard to set an innocent person free. “

The opposition senator and fierce critic of President Duterte was detained in February 2017 at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center on drug charges. She denied the complaint and described it as a mere political harrassment.

In retaliation to Locsin’s idiotic remark, De Lima said, "Mr. Locsin, it is not hard to set an innocent person free. All you have to possess is the legal aptitude to be able to weigh the value of the statements of 13 criminal convicts all serving life sentences and other compromised characters, as against US Senators of the most powerful nation in the world and other global personalities and institutions who consistently act in solidarity with me and my causes,"



She added, Locsin seemingly forgot his lesson on criminal procedure and fails to mention other ways of ending a criminal trial, including “withdrawal of the Information, desistance from pursuing the case or failure to prosecute, all by the prosecution.”

The Bicol native Senator reminded Locsin that as the top diplomat of our country, he is free to regain his brilliant legal mind or choose to continuously identify himself as among the cohorts or enablers of an abusive government.


“You cannot be that naïve or close-minded in failing or refusing to see what the rest of the world sees: that the charges against me are pure fiction, a product of orchestrated lies assembled by certain officials and operators on explicit orders of Duterte as the highlight of his personal vendetta against me,” De Lima said.



Source: Politiko

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