MANILA, Philippines-Following the release of a “matrix” showing her alleged connection to the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), Senator Leila De Lima, on Thursday, August 25 said President Rodrigo Duterte’s latest accusation against her is one of his “jokes”.
“Is this a joke, was it a joke? This joke, like most of his jokes before this latest one that he will surely regret,” a furious De Lima said during a press conference.
PHOTO CREDIT: GMA Network
During a press conference in the early hours of Thursday in Davao City, Duterte showed the controversial matrix tagging De Lima, her former driver Ronnie Palisoc Dayan and several other personalities reportedly involved in illegal drug activities at the NBP under the previous administration.
De Lima said she will no longer dignify the “worst matrix of all time”, which she described as nothing more than a list of names. The former Justice Secretary believes that she will be able to prove her critics wrong.
“Like the many tirades against me, these are bound to fail again with all of these trumped up accusations and worst matrix of all time, “ De Lima stressed.
Among those included in the matrix are former Justice Undersecretary Francis Baraan, Former Bureau of Corrections chief Franklin Bucayo, Urbiztondo, Pangasinan Board Member Raul Sison, Pangasinan provincial administrator Rafael Baraan and Pangasinan Rep. Amado Espino. The President didn’t divulge the source of the matrix.
According to the neophyte Senator, she once investigated Espino for murder while serving as the Justice Secretary. De Lima dismissed the case against Espino at the preliminary investigation because of the alleged inconsistencies in the statement of the minor witness.
The former Human Rights chair currently leads a Senate investigation of the supposed spate of drug-related killing amid the government’s war against illegal drugs. Years ago, De Lima accused Duterte of heading the Davao Death Squad, an allegation the President repeatedly denied.
Duterte says “Warren” is De Lima’s New Lover
The 71-year-old President has once again dropped another bombshell by announcing the name of De Lima’s new lover. According to Duterte, the female Senator is in a relationship with a man named Warren, who currently works for the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
He said Warren had no involvement in illegal drugs and that he got his information from former MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino.