De Lima denies receiving money from disbarred lawyer
FILE PHOTO: Former Sen. Leila De Lima (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Leila De Lima told the Supreme Court on Friday that her senatorial campaign did not receive money from a lawyer that the high court had recently disbarred.
On Wednesday, the high court disbarred lawyer Demosthenes Tecson for keeping the rest of his clients’ awarded compensation as attorney’s fees and allegedly as a contribution to De Lima’s campaign kitty.
“I categorically state that this claim is utterly false and has no basis in fact. I have had no dealings, financial or otherwise, with Mr. Tecson, nor have I ever authorized or received any such contributions from him. I do not even know him,” De Lima said in a letter to the SC on Friday.
Further, the former senator asked the high court for a “public clarification” that the claim involving her was false.
READ: Disbarred lawyer kept P60M from clients, ‘gave’ to De Lima kitty
Article continues after this advertisement“I take grave exception to being wrongfully implicated in the Supreme Court Spokesperson’s press release on a case that has nothing to do with me,” De Lima said.
“It is profoundly unjust for my name to be dragged into the misconduct of a lawyer who has been stripped of his professional standing precisely because of his ethical violations,” she added.
