Opposition wants Speaker Dalrymple-Philibert to step aside amid alleged breaches of Integrity Commission Act
Published:Tuesday | September 19, 2023 | 7:18 PM
Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding says Prime Minister Andrew Holness should direct Speaker of the House of Representatives, Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, to step down in the wake of a ruling by the Director of Corruption Prosecution, Keisha Prince-Kameka, that she should face eight charges for breaching the Integrity Commission Act and for providing false information in her statutory declarations for the period 2015 to 2021.
READ:Dalrymple-Philibert to be charged for alleged false IC declarations
At a press conference called immediately after Opposition lawmakers walked out of Parliament Tuesday afternoon, Golding said that the Speaker's decision to preside over the tabling of the report and the accompanying ruling and to refer the reports to two parliamentary committees for deliberation would have grave implications for Jamaica in the eyes of its international partners.
"We are part of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and we are part of the democratic world. We don't want our image and reputation besmirched in this way. She must step down... it is the honourable thing to do... that is the tradition of the system that we have," he said.
He said Dalrymple-Philibert must step back and another Government lawmaker assumes the position of Speaker.
“It was quite inappropriate and a violation of the principle of good governance for the person who is the subject of this report and ruling to be deciding as speaker what happens to it,” he argued.
Golding noted that when he stood to ask the Speaker whether she had intended to deal with the ruling as well as the report and whether she would stay in the chair as the presiding officer when she was the subject of the report and ruling she refused to allow him to ask any question.
“In that gagging situation we decided to remove ourselves from the Parliament in protest because although we are small in number we are there to uphold and defend the Constitution of the country,” he said.
Golding said that as the umpire of all decisions and procedures of the House Dalrymple-Philibert cannot remain in her position while she is facing such serious charges.
During the sitting of Parliament, Dalrymple-Philibert said she decided to table the commission's report concerning her statutory declaration because she had “nothing to hide”.
The Speaker directed that the report be sent to the Integrity Commission Oversight Committee of Parliament and the Ethics Committee of Parliament for deliberations.
The Speaker chairs the Ethics Committee but Dalrymple-Philibert indicated that when the report is being reviewed she will recuse herself from the discussion.
When Golding rose to quiz the Speaker on the issue, she made it clear that the matter was not up for debate.
At that point, the Opposition walked out of Parliament and called a press conference to address the issue.
Dalrymple-Philibert has issued a statement on the matter.
- Edmond Campbell
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