DOJ chief De Lima vows swift resolution of high-profile cases

(Updated 11:11 a.m.) As she took over the reins of the Department of Justice on Friday, former Commission on Human Rights chairperson Leila de Lima said she plans to erase the perception that the Philippine justice system is slow. At the turnover ceremonies at the DOJ office in Manila, former Secretary Alberto Agra relinquished his post to De Lima, the feisty lawyer who courageously spoke against human rights atrocities committed by ranking politicians, law enforcers, and warlords during the previous administration. "All high-profile cases will be resolved expeditiously and competently — all unresolved cases that lend to the perception that the wheels of justice are not swift enough, that the DOJ is not firebrand," De Lima said during the turnover rites. Among the high-profile cases that DOJ prosecutors are handling is the multiple murder charges against members of the Ampatuan clan in connection with the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre in Maguindanao. On Thursday, militant party-list group Bayan Muna filed with the DOJ a criminal complaint against former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in connection with the NBN-ZTE corruption controversy that rocked her nine-year administration. Also in her speech, De Lima said her other plans include ridding the department of corruption, shoring up the agency's competence, strengthening reviews and audits, and reforming the Witness Protection Program. "As CHR chair, I am well aware of [the WPP’s] failure to be 100 percent effective," she stressed. Those who attended the ceremonies were officials and employees of the department and its agencies, retired Supreme Court justices, and De Lima’s parents, former Commission on Elections commissioner Vicente de Lima and wife Norma. Agra, whose tenure only lasted for four months, heaped praises on De Lima, whom he said he had known for the past 15 years in election law practice. "In practice, she (De Lima) was known to be incisive, judicious, and incorruptible," he said. Noynoy's marching orders In his inaugural address last Wednesday, President Benigno Aquino III particularly gave De Lima "marching orders to begin the process of providing true and complete justice for all" as the new administration takes over. [See: Aquino vows to pursue 'true and complete justice for all' ] "To those who are talking about reconciliation, if they mean that they would like us to simply forget about the wrongs that they have committed in the past, we have this to say: there can be no reconciliation without justice," the President also said. De Lima was one of the two Cabinet secretaries mentioned in the address. The other was Agriculture Sec. Proceso Alcala. On Friday, De Lima admitted Aquino’s command made her feel "pressured" and "being placed in the hot seat." However, she added she would do her best to live up to Aquino’s and the public’s trust. "The chief executive has made it a policy that the Justice department will administer nothing but true justice," said De Lima. Going after the big fish De Lima’s appointment had been seen and welcomed by civic groups and other government officials as a sign the country’s justice system will finally be reformed. The Justice secretaries in the past nine years — Agra, Agnes Devanadera, Raul Gonzalez, Simeon Datumanong, incumbent Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, and Hernando “Nani" Perez — have been widely perceived as close allies and lackeys of Mrs. Arroyo. The former DOJ heads were criticized either for going after critics of the Arroyo administration or for cushioning the former president and their allies from prosecution. As CHR chair, De Lima made several recommendations to prosecute government and police officials. But not many cases prospered as the CHR has only recommendatory powers. Now that she's in the DOJ, the public will see whether De Lima can chase big criminals all the way to jail. Public servant of 2009 De Lima earned her law degree from the San Beda College in 1985 and placed eighth in the Bar examinations that year. She first worked as a tax assistant to high-profile auditing firm Sycip, Gorres, Velayo and Co. (SGV and Co.) in 1986, the year she began teaching at her alma mater. She was also part of the legal staff of former Supreme Court Associate Justice Isagani Cruz until 1989. From 1993 to 1995, she served as secretary of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal. Over the years, she became one of the most-sought election lawyers. One of her clients was former Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca. Mrs. Arroyo appointed De Lima as Commission on Human Rights chair in May 2008. But even if it was Mrs. Arroyo who gave her a seven-year term, De Lima did not balk at criticizing human rights violations during the Arroyo administration. GMANews.TV also named De Lima as its first Public Servant of the Year in 2009. "For her courage and independent-mindedness in speaking out even against colleagues in government and for helping keep human rights on the public agenda with timely and forceful words, Leila de Lima is GMANews.TV’s Public Servant of the Year, an annual accolade that this news site is awarding for the first time this year [2009]," the website said. To which, she replied: "I have simply tried to do my job, the only way I know how… I have been giving it my best, and I intend to continue to do so, for as long as I have the opportunity. I try to give as much of myself to my work as possible, because at the end of the day, I want to know that my efforts, during the relatively short span of time available to me, were somehow able to make a real difference." Agra’s tarnished image? Agra's stint, which lasted for only for four months, was peppered by high-profile controversies in connection with the November 23 massacre in Maguindanao, perceived to have been ordered by the powerful Ampatuan clan. In April, Agra issued a resolution exonerating murder suspects former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan and former Mamasapano Mayor Akmad Ampatuan. They are cousins. His resolution triggered a public firestorm and even the outrage of his department's own prosecutors, who urged Agra to review the case. "Otherwise, we dishonor the primary reason for which our institution exists and its very name: the Department of Justice," Chief State Prosecutor Claro Arellano was quoted as saying. More than a month later, Agra reversed his decision and found probable cause to charge the two Ampatuans with murder. On June 14, self-confessed massacre gunman Suwaib Upham was killed in Parang, Maguindanao by an unidentified assailant. Lawyer Harry Roque, counsel for some of the families of slain journalists, then blamed Agra and the DOJ for supposedly failing to provide protection to Upham, who was expected to give a strong testimony against the Ampatuans. However, Agra and the state prosecutors turned the tables on Roque, saying it was the outspoken lawyer's failure to coordinate with the department’s Witness Protection Program that resulted in the failure to grant protection to Upham. Roque had since denied he lacked coordination with the DOJ. Despite these controversies, Agra boasted of the following accomplishments in his short tenure: reducing the red tape within the department, answering the 228 motions for reconsideration filed since he assumed office, scrapping fees for poor litigants, and implementing a zero backlog program, among others. — RSJ, GMANews.TV