FIGHTING BACK Sen. Leila de Lima belittles the witnesses against her during a privilege speech at the Senate. ARNOLD ALMACEN/INQUIRER
Saying she was being persecuted, Sen. Leila de Lima on Thursday said she was considering filing charges against her detractors for violating her right to safety and privacy.
“I’m a subject of persecution and I am no longer safe, I don’t feel safe. The truth is I’m not safe!” De Lima said at a news conference that she called to address some of the testimonies given at the House of Representatives inquiry by what she termed as “so-called witnesses” linking her to drug lords at New Bilibid Prison.
De Lima said she had been bombarded with hate and threatening messages following the public release of her phone number and address at the inquiry. She read some of the messages. She added she also had to temporarily leave her house.
She said she might file petitions for the issuance of a writ of amparo and writ of habeas data, both remedies available to any person whose right to privacy in life, liberty or security was being violated or threatened by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or a private individual or entity.
De Lima said she was seeking these remedies as she questioned whether she could rely on the police, military and the National Bureau of Investigation for her security needs.
“You know the answer to that,” she told reporters. “They’re violating my rights, my right to privacy, right to security.”
Hate from Duterte fanatics
Asked whether she had asked help from the Senate on the matter of her security, De Lima said she would take it up with Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III.
The senator also read to reporters some of the hate and insulting text messages sent to her, which included calling her a “coddler,” “ugly” and “immoral.”
“By the nature of the texts, by the nature of the messages, this could only come from the trolls and Duterte fanatics,” she declared.
De Lima has clashed with the President and his allies over extrajudicial killings in the administration’s war on drugs. Mr. Duterte has accused her of having an affair with her driver and being a protector of drug lords.
Their feud arose after De Lima, as head of the Commission of Human Rights, investigated Mr. Duterte for allegedly being behind the so-called Davao Death Squad responsible for executing criminals when he was mayor of Davao City.