De Lima takes weeklong leave

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima will go on leave for a week after she was diagnosed with pneumonia.

Justice Assistant Secretary Geronimo Sy told reporters yesterday that doctors advised De Lima to rest for a week after she was found to be suffering from “over fatigue” and “community-acquired pneumonia” last Friday.

De Lima is confined at a private hospital, he added.

Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar has been designated officer-in-charge of the Department of Justice during the absence of De Lima, Sy said.

The last justice secretary to take a sick leave was Raul Gonzalez during the Arroyo administration.

In September 2007, then 75-year-old Gonzalez was hospitalized for bleeding stomach ulcer and later on had a kidney transplant.

He was temporarily replaced by then Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera, who was later appointed secretary of justice.