Sen. Panfilo Lacson chided Sunday some sectors, including some “human rights” groups in Washington, for insinuating Sen. Leila de Lima was stripped of her chairmanship in the Senate justice committee to silence critics of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Lacson said he is not aware of any plot to oust de Lima, adding he voted to remove her as chairperson because of how she conducted the committee hearing with self-described killer Edgar Matobato.
“Nabubuo na perception sa tindi ng panawagan sa issue na nire-raise ng human rights groups not only within the country, particular sa Washington, parang lumalabas napakasama naming lahat; in-oust namin dahil maganda ang takbo ng pagdinig kaya natanggal si Sen. de Lima as chairperson ng committee on justice and human rights. It is not the case. Ako di ko pwede aminin na yan ang nangyari,” he said in an interview on DZBB radio.
De Lima was stripped of her chairmanship in the committee last month and replaced with Sen. Richard Gordon.
Earlier, Lacson noted de Lima and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s attempts to lawyer for Matobato even after inconsistencies were found in his claims.
Also, Lacson said the Senate’s rules allow the reorganization of committees and even the Senate leadership.
As for voting to remove de Lima as committee chairperson, Lacson said his vote was spontaneous.
“Kung may nangyaring prior na paguusap na planuhin alisin sa kanya ang committee chairmanship, di ako parte roon. Pero bumoto ako base sa aking naobserbahan bilang co-chair sa pagdinig at bilang member ng committee on justice and human rights,” he said.
“So mali ang binabato sa amin particularly ng human rights groups kaya namin tinanggal at inalisan ng ng chairmanship si Sen. de Lima, dahil maganda ginagawa niya. Taliwas yan sa katotohanan sa aking opinion, dahil di ganyan ang dahilan,” he added.
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