The NBP Queen De Lima should not expect special treatment, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre 2nd said.
“Definitely, she will be safe kung saan man,” Aguirre told reporters.
Aguirre however said the senator should not expect to be detained in a facility with special amenities.
The Cabinet official could not say if de Lima would be detained at the Philippine National Police custodial center in Camp Crame where former senators Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. are jailed on plunder and graft charges.
The Justice secretary said that if de Lima was criticizing the supposed “special treatment” being accorded to high-profile convicts detained at Camp Aguinaldo, she should not ask for a different kind of treatment herself.
“We have to be fair to all,” he added.
Aguirre maintained that he did not approve the reported “perks” given to the convicts for testifying against de Lima. He said he merely directed Bureau of Corrections guards to do something with the ventilation of the Camp Aguinaldo facility after receiving reports that some of the inmates were suffering from hypertension.
The Bilbid Queen De Lima has expressed fears for her safety, certain that she would be ordered arrested by the courts for her drug-trafficking case. She has begun packing her bags.
De Lima, accused of tolerating the drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison when she was Justice secretary in the previous administration, is being probed for supposedly violating Section 5 of the Dangerous Drugs Act (sale and trading of illegal drugs), a non-bailable offense if taken together with Section 26 (b) (conspiracy).