MANILA — Justice Secretary Leila de Lima won’t allow a “surprise birthday bashing” to ruin her day.
De Lima remained cool after around 500 members of the religious sect Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) protested in front of the Department of Justice building in Manila on Thursday.
The protesters, which grew to 1,000 by around 7 pm according to the police, were holding placards and protesting that De Lima leave the INC alone.
The protest came after the Justice Department showed interest in investigating the alleged corruption in the sect.
The protesters were chanting as they clogged the traffic on Padre Faura.
Despite this, De Lima maintained that she is only doing her duty as the secretary of justice.
“I’m just doing my job,” De Lima said in reply to criticisms from the INC leadership.
“All I can say is that like in many other things I do, I’m just doing my job here and my motive always is fealty to my sworn duty. I don’t have any other motive,” De Lima said.