Civil society groups call for Dalrymple-Philibert's resignation

Three civil society groups are calling for Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert to resign from her post as House Speaker in the wake of a ruling that she be charged for allegedly knowingly making a false statement in her Statutory Declarations.

The National Integrity Action (NIA), Jamaican Accountability Portal (JAMP) and the Advocates Network (AN) made the demand in a media release on Wednesday.

"It is undemocratic for the Speaker to preside over the hearing relating to a report about her conduct. She is the subject of the report from the Integrity Commission and the director of corruption prosecution has ruled that she be charged with multiple offences committed between 2015 and 2021," they stated.

The groups noted that there is already precedence for persons being investigated to step aside from their positions until the investigation is completed.

The Integrity Commission has cited Dalrymple-Philibert for a $6-million Mercedes-Benz GLA250 that was omitted from her statutory declarations for seven years.

READ: House Speaker accused of knowingly lying to IC

Director of corruption prosecution Keisha Prince-Kameka has ruled that she be charged with four counts of breaching Section 15(1)(b) of the Parliament (Integrity of Members) Act, 1973 for making a false statement in a statutory declaration covering the period 2015 to 2017.

Prince-Kameka also determined that Dalrymple-Philibert should be charged with four counts of breaches in relation to Section 43(2)(a) of the Integrity Commission Act, 2017 for making a false statement in a statutory declaration covering the period 2018 to 2020.

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