Photo of Salvador Panelo by Paul San Juan
Photo of De Lima courtesy of Rappler
Panelo on De Lima’s admission of affair: ‘She must voluntarily resign’After Sen. Leila De Lima admitted once having an affair with former driver and bodyguard Ronnie Dayan, President Duterte’s camp is positive that this strengthens all accusations hurled at her.
According to Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, “The admission by De Lima on her romantic albeit illegal and moral liaison with her bodyguard-driver validates the accusation of PRRD’s that the senator committed unlawful and immoral acts and opens her to a criminal charge of adultery her lover being a married man. It strengthens the case filed against her on her involvement in the drug operations. It opens her to expulsion proceedings in the Senate by the Senate Ethics Committee for immorality and grave misconduct in office apart from opening herself to a disbarment proceeding as a member of the bar for immorality and unethical conduct. To save the Senate from further embarrassment she must voluntarily resign. She has herself to blame for the present destructive predicament she is in. With her aforesaid admission President Duterte has been vindicated on his accusations against De Lima and put a lie to her pretended protestations of innocence and her cry of being a victim of persecution.”
