DE LIMA’S PRIVILEGE SPEECH: Sen. Leila M. De Lima in a privilege speech decried the latest spate of killings targeting alleged drug pushers and drug personalities, which she says disregards a person’s basic right to due process guaranteed to all under the Constitution. “We have to continue opposing the murder of the innocents as well as that of the suspects. We must call for the accountability of state actors responsible for this terrifying trend in law enforcement, and the investigation of killings perpetrated by the vigilante assassins,” De Lima said. (MNS photo)
MANILA, Sept 19 (Mabuhay) – Senator Leila de Lima on Monday cried foul over accusations that convicted drug kingpins raised millions in cash to fund her poll campaign last May.
At the same time, de Lima accused the Duterte administration of blackmailing and bribing inmates at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) to fabricate testimonies against her at a congressional inquiry this week.
The senator insisted that she never received “even a single cent” from convict Jaybee Sebastian, who allegedly ordered gangs in the NBP to contribute P16 million to de Lima’s campaign kitty by selling narcotics.
“Puro po kasinungalingan ang lalabas diyan. Hindi po ako coddler, hindi po ako protector ng mga drug convicts or drug lords. Lalong lalo na, wala po akong tinatanggap kahit singko kaninuman – convict man o hindi,” de Lima said.
(Everything that will be revealed there are lies. I am not a coddler, I am not a protector of drug convicts or drug lords. I never accepted even a cent from anyone – convict or not.)
An inmate who will face the inquiry of the House of Representatives claims that Sebastian, who was convicted of carjacking and kidnapping, organized the “fundraising” for de Lima sometime in 2014, accoding to a newspaper report.
One inmate said Jad de Vera, an alleged nephew of De Lima, would collect the money twice a week.
Those who defied the order were allegedly transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) jail in Manila and suffered an end to their VIP perks.
But De Lima claimed that the witnesses were either offered paroles or blackmailed into giving false testimonies.
“Ang mga so-called witnesses na iyan can only be false, perjured or coerced. Magsisinungaling o nagsisinungaling po lahat iyan. It’s either tinakot sila o may mga ipinangako sa kanila,” she said.
(These so-called witnesses can only be false, perjured or coerced. All of them will lie or are already lying. It’s either they were threatened or were promised something.)
The high-profile convicts, she said, also loathe her as she ordered a series of raids on their luxurious “kubols” and transferred them to the NBI facility and later to a high-security facility at NBP.
“Lalo na kung kasama iyan sa mga Bilibid 19, siyempre mga galit po sa akin iyan dahil doon po sa pag-raid ko sa kanila noon at paglipat NBI at paglipat ulit sa [NBP] Builbing 14,” de Lima said.
(Especially the members of Bilibibd 19, they are mad at me because I raided them and transferred them to the NBI and again to the NBP Building 14.)
Reacting to the reported drug ties of her alleged nephew, de Lima also scoffed: “Hindi ko po iyan kilala, sino iyan?” (I don’t know him, who is that?)
Among the high-value inmates testifying at the House probe are Herbert Colangco and Noel Martinez, who have been transferred to the custody of a military facility due to security concerns.
Colangco has claimed that de Lima also collected a monthly payola of P3 million for protecting their illegal activities inside the NBP.
He further alleged that Sebastian, whom de Lima favored, monopolized the NBP narcotics trade when he and other inmates were moved to the NBI.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said a high-ranking government official will also testify on how he delivered at least P5 million in drug payoffs per visit to de Lima’s house in Parañaque.
De Lima, for her part, fired back at the administration over inconsistent accusations against her.
“Napaka-kumplikado na ng istorya nila. Kasi sa kakaimbento nila ng istorya, hindi sila nakakabuo ng tunay na kapani-paniwalang istorya,” she snapped.
(Their story is already very complicated. They keep fabricating stories so they cannot form a truly believable narrative.)
“Ano man pong testigo, ano mang ebidensya ang ilalabas nila—inmates, former officials ng DOJ, NBI o anuman—wala pong katotohanan iyan.”
(Any witness, any evidence they will release—inmates, former officials of DOJ, NBI or whatever—there will be no truth to it.)
In the right time, the senator also promised to explain the “operational strategy” on why Sebastian was left at the NBP when other high-value inmates were transferred to NBI.
De Lima is not attending the “sham inquiry” which starts Monday.
The senator has earned President Duterte’s ire by leading a Senate investigation into the hundreds of deaths in the vicious war on drugs.
Last week, she presented as witness Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed hitman who accused Duterte of ordering the killings of suspected criminals and political opponents in Davao City during his term as mayor. (MNS)