De Lima willing to be shot if drug links proven
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Embattled Sen. Leila de Lima on Saturday said she is "willing to resign, willing to be shot in front of the President" if drug allegations hurled against her are proven true.
Speaking before reporters at a press forum on Saturday, De Lima said she is confident of her innocence, saying President Rodrigo Duterte received only fake and fabricated information linking her to illegal drugs.
"Kung saka-sakali mang meron na po kayong ebidensya tungkol diyan, sinasabi ko na po sa inyo na ang ebidensya na 'yan ay hindi totoo. Fake. Bogus. Manufactured. Fabricated. Perjured," De Lima said, addressing Duterte.
[Translation: "If ever you already have evidence, I am telling you that is not true."]
De Lima also said Duterte will only be embarrassed if he will insist on saying she is a protector of drug lords. "Kung sino man ang nagsu-supply niyan, pwede ho ba harapin niyo na sila ngayon at pilitin niyo na silang magpakatotoo sa inyo dahil kayo ho ang masisira. Maybe not now, but in the very near future," De Lima said.
[Translation: "Whoever is supplying you with (information), can you please confront them and urge them to tell the truth because you will be embarrassed."]
She called on the President to closely examine the information he received.
Digging dirt
What could have been the source of the accusations? Perjured witnesses, De Lima said.
She said she received reports from "credible sources" that during the last elections, some convicts in the New Bilibid Prison were asked to testify against her to implicate her in the illegal drug trade.
"They were trying to access certain convicts na ang pakay daw ay ituro ako na ako ay isang coddler, na ako ay isang protector, na ako ay nakikinabang sa droga nila, na ako ay tinulungan nila nung eleksyon through campaign funds [to say that I am a coddler, protector, that I benefit from drug money, that I received help through campaign funds]," De Lima said.
Even her former colleagues when she was Justice Secretary have been eyed to dig dirt against her, De Lima said.
She did not name the people behind the planting of evidence against her.
She also said like her, some of the elected officials in the President's list of "narco-politicians" may be innocent as well.
Duterte earlier named De Lima as the public official he wanted to "destroy," and accused her of using money from drug lords as campaign funds.
Also read: Duterte blasts De Lima: Immoral, used narco money
"It is so unprecedented that it's the President himself oppressing an elected public official. They're violating my rights. They're violating my dignity as a human being," De Lima said.
De Lima abruptly ended the forum saying she is already getting emotional.
Former driver faces death threats
De Lima, however, refused to answer questions on her alleged affair with her former driver and body guard, Ronnie Dayan, who Duterte said collected money from drug sources for campaign purposes. "I don't want to touch on that muna po dahil personal na bagay na po iyan," De Lima said.
[Translation: "I don't want to touch on that for now because it's personal."]
But she said there were threats against the life of Dayan, who was also tapped to witness against her. She said police officers, who were Dayan's friends, asked him to seek refuge because there are men "hunting" him.
"Baka patayin ka o dudukutin ka o balak nila na gawin kang state witness laban sa dati mong boss na si De Lima [They plan to kill or abduct you so you can be state witness against your former boss, De Lima]," De Lima said, quoting the police officer.
She said Dayan, who is no longer working for her, called her about a month ago to ask for help.
She called on authorities to not arrest Dayan unless there's a valid warrant.
De Lima also denied she has a sex scandal and she said she did not even watch the video. I have better things to do, the senator said.
She said the video is always brought up when she's in the middle of an investigation. De Lima said she does not want the public to focus on her personal life especially now that the first Senate hearing on the alleged extrajudicial killings involving drug suspects is set for Monday and Tuesday.
