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En JAMAICA | Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert resigns as House Speaker and South Trelawny MP
JAMAICA | Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert resigns as House Speaker and South Trelawny MP
KINGSTON, Jamaica, September 21, 2023 - Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert has resigned as Speaker of the House of Representatives and Member of Parliament for South Trelawny, with immediate effect.
Mrs. Dalrymple-Philibert had been facing calls from the Opposition and civil society to step aside after the Integrity Commission ruled that she be charged in relation to 'false' statements she made in her statutory declarations filed over the period 2015 to 2021.
In a statement today Mrs. Dalrymple-Philibert said she spent the last two days reading the Integrity Commission’s report detailing the circumstances of the omission of a motor vehicle from her statutory declaration and has taken note of the public sentiments on this issue.
She noted that: "Nowhere in the entire report, has the Integrity Commission raised any question or concern about the source of funding of the vehicle which was purchased through a loan from Sagicor Bank."
Mrs Dalrymple-Philibert said the vehicle, which was purchased for $6 million, was never sold or transferred to anyone in the last seven years, despite there being nothing that prevented her from selling the vehicle after the three-year mandatory restriction was lifted.
She maintained that "the omission of the vehicle was a genuine oversight on my part", adding that there would have been no allegations against her name had she included the vehicle in her declaration, which is something she had no motive to deliberately omit.
It is against this background, and the damage to her reputation as a result of these charges, that has led to tender her immediate resignation as both House Speaker as well as MP.
The following is the full text of the statement from the former House speaker:
FULL STATEMENT FROM MARISA DALRYMPLE-PHILIBERT
I have over the past two days read the Integrity Commission’s report detailing the circumstances of the omission of a motor vehicle from my Statutory declaration and have taken note of the public sentiments on this issue.
Nowhere in the entire report, has the Integrity Commission raised any question or concern about the source of funding of the vehicle which was purchased through a loan from Sagicor Bank.
The vehicle was never sold or transferred to anyone in the past 7 years, although there was nothing preventing me from doing so after the 3 year mandatory restriction was lifted.
I maintain to this day, that the omission of the vehicle was a genuine oversight on my part. There would have been no allegations against my name had I included the vehicle in my declaration, therefore, I had no motive to have deliberately omitted it.
Since the Integrity Commission has decided to charge me criminally for an omission, I have considered the damage this has done to my reputation and have decided to tender my resignation both as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Member of Parliament for South Trelawny, with immediate effect.
What has happened to me, could have happened to any other Member of the Parliament, Public Servant, or Civil Servant. As a woman maintaining a family and as a Member of Parliament, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Managing Partner of a law firm, the toll that it has taken on me is immense.
I wish to state categorically that my decision is entirely voluntary, and not at the request of anyone. I also wish to state and emphasize that I remain a loyal and committed member and supporter of the Jamaica Labour Party, and more particularly to the Andrew Holness Administration. I will continue to render assistance in whatever way I can and I will always support my party.
I must, without reservation, thank the people of South Trelawny for their unwavering support of me during this period, and for returning me as their Member of Parliament on four consecutive occasions.
Their support and love have kept me strong through my political journey. However, the present circumstances are completely contrary to my own personal principles and beliefs which I have always lived by.
I look forward to the trial of the matter for which the Integrity Commission has ruled that I be charged, to be concluded in a court of law rather than a Court of Public Opinion.
As I stated in the House of Representative on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, I have nothing to hide, and I did not knowingly mislead the Integrity Commission, it was a genuine oversight.
Marissa Dalrimple-Phillibert