“Don’t be hysterical. Defend yourself like a lawyer,” Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II told Senator Leila De Lima who turned emotional at a press conference, calling President Rodrigo Duterte to stop the attacks against her.
“Kung magiging hysterical ka, magsisisigaw ka, hindi ka maiintindihan ng tao. Hindi maiintidihan kung bakit ka naghi-hysterical (If you become hysterical, just scream, the people won’t get you. They won’t understand why you are acting hysterically),” Aguirre told reporters.
De Lima accused the government of fabricating evidence to pin her down. The Senator added that the inmates who testified against her were also coerced and tortured.
READ: De Lima to Duterte: Arrest me now!
Aguirre belied the claime, saying they were calm and even cracked jokes during the House Committee on Justice hearing on the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
“’Yan ang truthful witness. Magpresinta ka ng ganyan, Senator De Lima, hindi ‘yung daldal ka nang daldal (That’s how a truthful witness behaves. Present someone like that, Senator De Lima, instead of just yakking),” Aguirre said.
Aguirre dared De Lima to present her evidence to show that they fabricated the evidence against her and that they tortured high profile inmates who testified against her.
READ: De Lima to Aguirre: Evidence against me is fake–like your wig
“State the facts! Nasan ang ebidensya mo? ‘Pag ikaw ay nag-akusa dapat may pruweba na ang mga inmates ay tinorture, na peke ang ebidensya…Parang hindi ka abogado (Where’s your evidence? If you are the one accusing, you should prove that the inmates were tortured and that the evidence we presented were fabricated. You are acting as if you are not a lawyer),” Aguirre added. IDL