‘Invent pa more,’ De Lima tells accusers
Senator Leila de Lima INQUIRER photo
Senator Leila De Lima had this to say to those accusing her of alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade: “Invent pa more!”
De Lima noted how witnesses were pointing at each other in the ongoing investigation of the House of Representatives into the alleged proliferation of narcotics at the New Bilibid Prison during her time as Justice Secretary.
“Sino ba talaga ang bagman ko si Ronnie Dayan o si Joenel Sanchez? Si Ragos itinuro din ng ilang witnesses,” she told reporters on Monday.
Dayan and Sanchez were her former driver and aide, respectively, while Ragos is National Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director General Rafael Ragos. The three were all tagged as De Lima’s bagmen.
READ: NBI intel officer says he drove Ragos to deliver drug money to De Lima
Since her accusers could not prove her alleged involvement in illegal drugs, De Lima said they were now diverting the issue by romantically linking her with her former driver and aide.
“Basta invent pa more, sige lang invent pa more. Yung billions na yan, magiging trillions siguro yan next time,” she said, referring to Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II’s claim that P12 billion to P15 billion drug money went to her.
Asked about the testimony of convicted kidnapper Jaybee Sebastian that he gave P10 million drug money to her through Sanchez, De Lima said: “My God, Diyos ko wala akong ganun, wala akong pwedeng maging bagman ko because I never authorized that. I will never go for that. I will not be like that.”
“Wala hong pwedeng maging bagman for me, whether security ko, whether staff ko, whether kamag-anak ko. Wala hong pwedeng bagman dyan dahil I do not go for that, I don’t receive any drug money. I did not and will not ever receive any money from an act of corruption. i don’t engage in those acts of corruption, lalo na sa drug money,” the senator added./rga
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