De Lima boasts of DOJ high trust ratings amid criticisms

Since she assumed office in July 2010, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has constantly found herself at odds with those who feel aggrieved by the the Justice department's actions against them. Despite this, De Lima took pride in the high trust and approval ratings received by her department. In her first State of the Department Address (SODA) delivered at the DOJ's 114th founding anniversary ceremonies on Monday, De Lima said the public is starting to trust the Justice Department again even if its actions do not sit well with controversial, high-profile personalities. "The DOJ gained the highest trust and approval rating inspite of the adversarial nature of our agencies. Our agency's pride has been restored and the DOJ is held to the highest standard of excellence," De Lima said in her speech. In the most recent surveys of public opinion polling bodies Social Weather Station and Pulse Asia, De Lima received the highest approval rating among Cabinet secretaries. Prone to criticisms Speaking to reporters later, De Lima said the nature of the work of state prosecutors and the DOJ's attached agencies is prone to criticism from detractors. "We are a big institution and we are perceived to be powerful. Attracting controversies cannot be avoided. We have detractors of course but out attitude is that we welcome criticisms, constructive criticims," she said. De Lima added: "Despite that, we tend to be controversial at times and we tend to spark certain debates and discussions on issues. We are able to gain the trust of many people." She likewise mentioned that there has been distrust in the leadership of Justice secretaries in the previous administration . De Lima's predecessors — Alberto Agra, Agnes Devanadera, Raul Gonzalez, Simeon Datumanong, among others — were reputed to be close allies of then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. "Now, I think I can say that to a significant degree, we have regained the trust of the majority. We will be challenged to do more," she added. Word wars Among the personalities whom De Lima have been at odds with include former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, the camp of acquitted murder suspect Hubert Webb, former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, and more recently, former Commission on Elections chair Benjamin Abalos. Last month, De Lima placed Mr. Arroyo on the Immigration watch list, but not before indicating that there may have been irregularities when he left for Hong Kong for a medical treatment. But as it turned out, Mr. Arroyo went through the regular Immigration process. De Lima was compelled to issue a public apology to the former First Gentleman. Mr. Arroyo has accused De Lima and the Aquino administration of persecuting him and his wife, but Lacson and Trillanes do not share this view. For the two senators, De Lima's efforts in going after the Arroyo couple are wanting. The contrasting views on the DOJ's performance prompted De Lima to say she was in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't situation." She then assured her critics that the DOJ's resolutions on at least three plunder complaints against former President Arroyo will be based on facts and evidence. Webb's camp, on the other hand, has threatened to file disbarment charges against De Lima after the latter announced that there was new evidence that could link Webb to the gruesome killing of three members of the Vizconde family in 1991. De Lima received flak for holding the press conference on the massacre case because the Supreme Court has already acquitted Webb and filing new charges against him will violate the double jeopardy principle. One of the more publicized verbal tussles among government officials was the one between De Lima and Gutierrez, a besieged Ombudsman who opted to resign last May instead of facing an impeachment trial at the Senate. De Lima has staunchly criticized the plea barganing agreement between the Ombudsman and accused plunderer former Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia. While the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has allowed Garcia to plead guilty to two lesser offenses, the military court has arrested the former Armed Forces of the Philippines comptroller to serve his two-year jail sentence for his conviction of violating the Articles of War in 2005. More recently, De Lima has been criticized by Abalos, who is being linked to the alleged election fraud in 2007. Abalos' accusers, former provincial poll supervisors Lilian Radam and Yogie Martirizar, are facing arrest because of the electoral sabotage cases filed against them. But instead of surrendering to authorities, Radam and Martirizar went to the DOJ to present themselves as witnesses in the forthcoming inquiry into allegd massive cheating in the 2007 polls. Abalos turned the tables on De Lima and said the Justice chief was harboring criminals. — RSJ, GMA News