Senator Leila de Lima. INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday denounced an edited photo of her bound on a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace, which she said were uploaded by paid trolls that are “hell-bent to ruin, make fun of and discredit” her.
In a statement, the senator warned against the relentless spread of false content and misleading information against her online to “deliberately deceive the public” and “undermine” her good reputation.
“My health is in perfect shape and this edited photo was obviously made by paid trolls hell-bent to ruin, make fun of and discredit me,” she said.
The edited photo of De Lima wearing a neck brace and on a wheelchair was uploaded on the Tambayan Ni BERTO Page on Facebook on Wednesday (October 16).
It had an embedded text which read: “BREAKING NEWS SENATOR DE LIMA SINUGOD SA HOSPITAL (rushed to hospital).”
“The edited photo, which Facebook has yet to take down, has been shared and re-shared by the page’s followers and their friends, and has gained multiple comments, as of this writing,” De Lima’s statement further read.
De Lima is currently detained at Camp Crame in Quezon City over what she called are “trumped-up” charges against her.
“Noon pa man, inihahayag ko sa publiko ang tunay na estado ng aking kalusugan. Hindi ako kailanman magsasakit-sakitan o manloloko ng kapwa para lang makakuha ng simpatya. Wala akong itinatago, nasa panig ko ang katotohanan,” she said.
(Even before, I have publicized the state of my health. I have never faked an illness or deceived anyone just to get sympathy. I’m not hiding anything, I’m on the side of truth).
“In fact, when I was granted a one-day medical furlough last year, I made sure to inform everyone about my condition and even reminded the public that there was nothing to worry about me. As a public servant, I have always been transparent,” she added.
In 2018, De Lima was granted a one-day medical furlough by a Muntinlupa court undergo a CT scan of the liver at Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City.
READ: De Lima undergoes CT scan of the liver
De Lima then reminded the Filipino public to remain vigilant against the makers and purveyors of fake news across social media platforms.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to check the veracity of any news articles or reports they read online before believing them, let alone share them in their respective social media pages,” she said. /jpv