Leila De Lima's Dilemma Shows Why Presidentialism Really Outright Sucks

Right now, I can't claim to have the last word on Leila De Lima (or Liela Dilemma) regarding her drug case. I could remember how Rigoberto Tiglao (a graduate of Ateneo De Manila) of The Manila Times wrote about the Bilibid Hilton incident to which I'll share an excerpt for reading:

Our national prison is just an hour away from her office in Manila, and has been known to be the justice department’s most problematic agency. There has always been intense lobbying for the post, which only on the surface appears unattractive.

That it has become “Bilibid Hilton” for moneyed inmates to live in luxury and even for them to run drug rings can only mean either of two things, or maybe even both:

l De Lima is totally inept in managing it, and ensuring our penal system is a pillar of our justice system; or

l She is in cahoots with the web of corruption in the Bureau of Corrections, and she receives her share of rich and drug-lord inmates huge “rents” for them to live in Bilibid as if they weren’t in prison.

So which is which? For either explanation, she doesn’t have any business being secretary of justice. Or has she been too busy running after former President Arroyo and opposition legislators that she has criminally neglected supervising our penal system?

I am astonished at de Lima’s gall at not thinking that she is so very accountable for “Bilibid Hilton.” (How on earth can a maximum security jail become the operations center for convicted drug lords, whose business obviously have been so lucrative that they needed money-counting machines?)

She could act the way she is acting now, if she had raided the prison a few months ago, or even a year after she became justice secretary June 20, 2010. But nearly five years after?

IMHO if the drug cases against her were dropped - she's not exactly clean either. I think Kerwin Espinosa's retraction is rather suspicious or maybe he was indeed forced to testify to "get it over and done with". It's the problem of the Philippine justice SYSTEM such as when Hubert Webb was wrongly jailed for more than a decade. Judge Amelita Tolentino appeared rather honorably in public but may be a viper in secret. Amelita denied Hubert's request for a DNA test which could've proved the innocence or guilt. Ironically, Antonio Trillanes IV once asked De Lima to resign concerning the said case. However, Trillanes and De Lima are now both allies since they have a common enemy. Yet, some probably are still wondering why Trillanes didn't get martyred which could've made his wife Arlene the newest presidential candidate instead of Leni Loud Robredo. 

De Lima was once the head of the Commission of Human Rights (CHR) during Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's term. Later, she was made the Justice Secretary under the late Noynoy Aquino. I remembered I wrote an article about roasting her in a parliamentary system. Reading back to what Tiglao said - De Lima might be innocent of the drug charges BUT I believe she can still be charged with NEGLECT and is totally inept. What about the HORRIBLE CRIME STATISTICS under De Lima's watch from 2010-2015? Though, I'm going to blame it more on the PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM than De Lima herself.

What if De Lima were under a parliamentary system?

The parliamentary system has a more rigid check and balance in contrast to what Raissa Espinosa-Robles wants us to believe. If Raissa did more research then she could've found out that parliaments have a more defined opposition and term limits are based on performance over a fixed term. In parliament, some people may get disqualified for life while others leave office sooner than an erring president. The only time an impeachment "succeeded" here was when Joseph "Erap" Estrada was voted out. However, Erap ended up re-running for president in 2010 and became mayor later on. It would've been different if Erap was a prime minister instead of a president. Erap would be so shamed in the weekly question hour he'd be hanging his head in shame. 

Now, let's think about De Lima herself. Sure, she's getting awards here and then by fellow liberals. I wouldn't be surprised if she'll receive the Nobel Peace Prize along with Leni Loud, Jover Laurio, or maybe even Sarah Jane Elgago. If she does, I would just let her keep it because the Nobel Prize is losing its prestige anyway. Under a parliamentary system, the two positions she had would be the Minister of Human Rights and the Minister of Justice. However, since she and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were of two different parties - she would probably be in the Opposition cabinet. Maybe, De Lima would serve as Prime Minister Aquino's justice minister instead.

Let's say that the timeline has two consecutive terms under Fidel V. Ramos. We'll have a LAMMP lead government that had Erap removed as prime minister allowing Edgardo Angara to rule as a better prime minister. LAMMP has Angara yet again as prime minister but was defeated by the Liberal Party making Noynoy the new prime minister. Noynoy would need to be very careful every step of the way. A good example is how the Yolanda relief operation could've been better under parliament. The late Stinky Soliman would've probably resigned over the fiasco. However, such cases aren't in the presidential system.

Just imagine it if De Lima were the justice minister. Right now, my stance is that De Lima isn't completely innocent either. As Tiglao said, why was the prison raid done much later? I'm no legal expert but it just feels wrong. Under parliament, De Lima would've to give account of the state of crime statistics and prison house reports. Maybe, at this point, De Venecia would probably still lead the Opposition with his Shadow Minister of Justice. Let's say that Menardo Guevarra acted as the shadow minister of justice to De Lima as the minister of justice. De Lima would have to defend herself to maintain confidence. 

If De Lima were "clean" over the drug charges - she could still be charged with neglect. I think a parliamentary system would do a better job of revealing the hidden activities in Bilibid. It might actually require De Lima to go there every week or every month to pass a report. De Lima would probably be urged to do the raid IMMEDIATELY. I think the reason why the raid wasn't done so soon is more like a lack of pressure. However, the parliamentary system would make all ministers do their jobs, especially with a watchdog from the Opposition. There would be more transparency and I think cases like tax officers' extorting taxpayers and the like can be easily revealed.

Either way, the parliamentary system puts anyone in a dilemma and not just De Lima. The presidential system's dilemma is that it hardly encourages transparency.