Manila: ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. have taken legal action by filing criminal complaints against 18 former Marines and their lawyer, Levito Baligod. The complaints were lodged on Monday, focusing on allegations made by the Marines regarding the delivery of cash to De Lima.
According to Philippines News Agency, De Lima, who serves as the deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives, has initiated a cyber libel complaint with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and perjury charges with the Department of Justice (DOJ). These charges stem from the claims made by the Marines about delivering suitcases of cash to her. Similarly, Catapang has filed perjury and cyber libel complaints against the same group of former Marines and their lawyer, Baligod.
Both De Lima and Catapang have strongly denied the allegations. Catapang stated that if the Bureau of Corrections had any funds, they would have been allocated for construction projects. He emphasized that there are no Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects or ghost projects linked to BuCor, and denied any involvement in the anomalies mentioned by the accused.
In a related development, the DOJ has given additional time to the camp of Sen. Joseph 'Jinggoy' Estrada to address charges in connection with ghost control projects. DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez announced that Sen. Estrada has requested an extension to file his counter-affidavit and has been granted a non-extendible period of three days, until March 12, for submission. After this deadline, the case will proceed to resolution.
