Dalrymple-Philibert fined $900,000 for Integrity Commission Act breaches

Member of Parliament for Trelawny Southern, Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, was on Friday fined $900,000 for breaching the Integrity Commission Act.

 

She was also admonished and discharged for breaching the Parliament (Integrity of Members) Act.

 

Dalrymple-Philibert was before the courts in relation to a September 2023 Integrity Commission (IC) report that recommended she be slapped with eight criminal charges for making a false statement in her statutory declaration filings between 2015 and 2021.

 

The IC determined that she breached the Parliament (Integrity of Members) Act and the Integrity Commission Act after she omitted from her statutory declarations for six years the fact that she purchased a 2015 Mercedes-Benz, and used her 20 per cent duty concession privilege to acquire the vehicle.

 

Her attorney, Peter Champagnie, noted in a statement on Friday that "Given that Mrs Dalrymple-Philibert has already filed updated statements to account for the motor vehicle, there was little purpose in contesting the charges."

 

He also said "all of the offences for which Mrs Dalrymple Philibert was before the Court are non-recordable offences and would not in any way adversely affect her Parliamentary duties."

 

In the meantime, Champagnie is urging lawmakers to reconsider the provisions of the Integrity Commission Act, to allow parliamentarians and other public officials the chance to make corrections to prior statutory declarations during an inquiry, without the need for court proceedings.

 

He emphasised that these matters are "largely administrative and should not unduly burden the court system."

 

Dalrymple-Philibert resigned as MP and House Speaker on September 21, 2023, over the matter.

However, she was re-elected to represent Trelawny Southern in a by-election on November 22 last year and resumed sitting in the House of Representatives in December.

 

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