JUSTICE Secretary Leila M. de Lima on Thursday bid good-bye to employees of the Department of Justice (DOJ), after creating a 16-man fact-finding team to investigate the killings in the indigenous lumad communities in Mindanao.
The team is expected to specifically focus on violence clutching those at the United Church of Christ of the Philippines-Haran Compound, Davao City; in Talaingod, Davao del Norte; Pangantucan, Bukidnon; and Lianga, Surigao del Sur, as well as all other related incidents.
De Lima said she created the team upon order by President Aquino.
“We want to know the root causes of these incidents,” de Lima told reporters during ceremonies celebrating the 118th anniversary of the DOJ.
“There are those who say it could be the mining companies or the Left, but, of course, these are all theories, and we need to dig deeper. We have to know the cause of the lawless activities. There are already so much displacement among the lumads.”
She added that the team will also determine the extent of military presence in the area.
“We have to determine the real state of affairs in the area. Of course, it is the military’s mandate to protect the areas they believe are under the influence of rebel groups. Pwede naman justified ’yung presence nila but pwede ring nasobrahan,” she added.
Non-governmental organizations have pointed to government troops as behind the arming of paramilitary groups suspected of being behind the killings of several indigenous lumad peoples and a teacher.
In her speech during the anniversary celebration, de Lima acknowledged that she was not able “to fulfill her mission of delivering justice for all” during her five-year stint as justice secretary.
But de Lima said she is certain she would be leaving behind a justice department that “will, in time, accomplish that mission.”
“As I turn over the reins to a new secretary of justice in a not-so-distant time, I fervently wish that he or she will carry on with the good works of justice that we have begun and sustain the good things that we have institutionalized,” de Lima said.
Apparently addressing the accusation made by the Iglesia Ni Cristo that she transgressed freedom of religion when she entertained an illegal-detention complaint against some of its leaders, de Lima said the DOJ “cannot just turn its back on those seeking for justice.”
“A case in point involves a certain religious organization. We have been pilloried before the public as violators of their freedom of religion, simply for doing our job. In standing our ground, we were only guided by these principles: equal protection of the law and justice for all. Our department is the first resort of those who cry for justice,” she said.
In an ambush interview following her speech, de Lima told reporters she is seriously considering a senatorial position, but it would depend on whether she would be included on the administration’s list of senatorial candidates.
“Again, let’s wait for the official announcement. If they do make the official announcement and I happen to be in the ticket, I will accept it also categorically,” de Lima said.
When asked about her possible replacement, de Lima said: “I cannot categorically say, because I don’t want to preempt the President because [he] has asked me already about it two or three weeks ago on who is my preferred successor, and I mentioned the name. [The person] was also acceptable on his part.”