Opposition Leader wants Speaker to "step aside"

By Prince Moore

Opposition Leader Mark Golding is calling for Speaker of the House of Representatives Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert to step aside following a ruling from the Director of Corruption Prosecution that she be charged in connection with allegations that she made a false statement in her statutory declarations filed over a six-year period.

Mrs Dalrymple-Philibert is to be charged in relation to her declarations filed over the period 2015 to 2021.

Director of Corruption Prosecution Keisha Prince-Kameka ruled that Mrs Dalrymple-Philibert should face eight charges for breaching the Integrity Commission Act.

Mr Golding, in response on Tuesday, said the House Speaker should not have presided over the day’s sitting of the House of Representatives.

He said Prime Minister Andrew Holness should take action to remove the House Speaker in light of the ruling that she be charged.

In light of the ruling that Mrs Dalrymple-Philibert be charged, she has retained the services of defense attorney Peter Champagnie K.C.

In a statement late on Tuesday, the Speaker said the investigation involved a car that she bought in 2015.

But the statutory declarations filed to the Commission for the period up until 2021, did not include information on the vehicle.

In her statement the House Speaker said she forgot about the vehicle which she had acquired for $6 million.  

Mrs Dalrymple-Philibert said she was surprised at the conclusion by the Integrity Commission that she knowingly failed to declare the vehicle which was acquired via a loan, as according to her, she has always been compliant in the filing of her statutory declaration.

She said in the statement that she will resubmit correct documents to the Commission on Wednesday.

The Speaker's statement

I take the opportunity as Speaker of the House of Representatives and Member of Parliament for South Trelawn to address the report of the Integrity Commission on my 2015 to 2021 Statutory Declarations. 

As required by law, I have always filed my statutory declarations and have done so in a timely and transparent manner given that I have nothing to hide. 

In 2015, I had applied for and obtained a motor vehicle concession to purchase a 2015 motor vehicle. 

The vehicle was purchase for Six Million Dollars ($6,000,000.00) and financed by a loan of Five Million Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars ($5,800,000.00) from Sagicor Bank. The loan was taken out by Lincoln Eatmon, my sister’s spouse and a deposit of $200,0000 was paid by both my husband and Mr. Eatmon. 

The vehicle was used primarily by my sister, her spouse and her son (my nephew) and occasionally by me when I am in Kingston. This is due to the fact that my husband and I owned more than one motor vehicles and as a rural MP, I preferred driving a SUV because of the rough terrain that I am accustomed to traversing when in South Trelawny. 

In using the concession, to acquire the vehicle, the government of Jamaica placed a 3 year restriction on my ability to sell or transfer the vehicle. The vehicle remained in my name and was never sold to anyone until over seven years later in May 2023. The vehicle was never sold to my sister, her spouse or any other family member. 

Further Sagicor Bank placed a lien on the title until the loan was repaid in 2022- seven (7) years later. Therefore, my ownership of the vehicle was a public record at the Tax Administration of Jamaica, the Bank, the Insurance Company and the Motor Vehicle Examination Department. As stated earlier, the vehicle was primarily used by my sister and her family and at the time of filing my statutory declaration, I honestly forgot about the vehicle and did not include it among the list of other vehicles I declared. 

When the Integrity Commission called me in to meet with them, I reviewed my file thereafter and called the Clerk to the Houses of Parliament and requested a copy of the list of vehicles that I had acquired using a motor vehicle concession. Having received the list which confirmed the 2015 vehicle, I revealed to the Integrity Commission that the vehicle was unintentionally omitted from my statutory declaration.

The Integrity Commission Report, specifically at 5.2.0 page 34, confirms that I have always been compliant in the filing of my statutory declaration “save and except for the omission” of the vehicle, which therefore makes the declaration inaccurate and incomplete. I am therefore surprised at the conclusion reach by the Integrity Commission, that I knowingly failed to declare the vehicle which was acquired via a loan.

The Commission recommends at 5.3.6 on page 37 that I resubmit a complete and accurate statutory declaration as required by law. I will do so by tomorrow, Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

It should be noted that the Integrity Commission suggested that a national training program be developed for members of parliament in filing complete and accurate declarations in keeping with government policies, regulation and legislation as the situation that has affected me, may be applicable to others.

In closing, I must clearly restate that I declared my ownership of the vehicle to the Integrity Commission, prior to the report being written and submitted. Let me be clear. I did not knowingly misrepresent the position to the Integrity Commission; it was a genuine oversight.

The matter is now in the hands of my lawyers and I will allow due process to take its course. My legal team is led by Peter Champagnie K.C.