When, for instance, De Lima began talking about the rights of the accused and the rule of law with reference to the various roundups and rub-outs of drug suspects, some people's eyebrows took off heavenward. They asked, wasn't this the same Leila de Lima, who as justice secretary defied an order of the Supreme Court allowing former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to seek medical treatment abroad - and who had Arroyo chased all the way to the airport to physically bar her from leaving?


Rule of law and suspects' rights? Tell me another, Ms. Leila.


And when De Lima defended the five police generals, accusing Duterte of violating the right of the so-called "narco-generals" to due process, there was more snickering in the background. And it came from people who remembered that De Lima (again, as justice secretary) had led high-profile raids at the New Bilibid Prison, where two of the big-time drug lords Duterte himself had linked to the generals continue to ply their trade.


If De Lima was not just engaged in covering up her own failings at the national penitentiary, the critics said, she would, at the very least, wait until Duterte backs up his charges with evidence. But she just had to react right away, fueling suspicion that she was anticipating that the probe of the Bilibid VIPs would eventually lead to her Senate doorstep.


And, finally, when De Lima dismissed the charges brought up against Noynoy Aquino as "politically motivated", she elicited howls of laughter from those who still remember the part she played in the three-woman tag team that tore Chief Justice Renato Corona to shreds on the president's behest. De Lima joined the esteemed ladies who headed the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit in giving substance to the politically-motivated charges dreamed up by Aquino - who took care of larding the House and the Senate to impeach and convict Corona.


In the end, Corona was convicted on unimpeachable charges of not declaring his piddling dollar accounts, and not because De Lima and her fellow furies succeeded in making real crimes stick. No wonder Leila fears political power backing trumped-up charges—she's seen, up close, how lethal that combination can be.


But then, perhaps De Lima is just trying to live up to her reputation as a pit bull for the Yellow regime in reacting the way she does. After all, the wildly successful Leni Robredo approach involving coy smiles, fluttering eyelids and off-shoulder dresses is, sadly, not a weapon in Leila's arsenal.


Still, prudence should have told De Lima to keep her silence, Drilon-like, until she had the goods on Duterte. But perhaps she is still nursing a hangover from her DOJ days, when she could just bark at anyone she wanted, secure in the knowledge that her master Aquino was at the other end of her leash.


You're on your own now, Leila. In your desire to protect the hand that fed you, be careful not bite off more than you can chew.


Unless, of course, you're really in danger of joining your former boss in jail, something that could happen sooner than anyone thinks. In which case, bark and bite away.




Sources: 


<ol class="article-sources">
<li>
Dogged De Lima by Jojo Robles, July 11, 2016, (<a href="https://goo.gl/raI6fO" class="news_link" target="_blank" title="Source">http://thestandard.com.ph</a>)
</li>
</ol>

(This article is a derivative of the source listed above. We are unable to grant permission for any kind of reproduction of this article other than social media shares.)

De Lima barks, appears intent on protecting her own behind