Senator Leila de Lima speaks at a mass for Option for Life at the CBCP Chapel in Manila on Monday, October 10, 2016 in celebration of the World Day Against Death Penalty.
INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA — “I am innocent and therefore I will not escape.”
Sen. Leila de Lima on Monday assured the public on Monday that she would not flee the country amid a lookout bulletin issued against her by the Department of Justice.
In an interview with reporters after hearing Mass in Intramuros, the embattled senator denied having plans to escape the crisis that she has been facing.
“They (DOJ) should not waste their effort, I have no intention of leaving to escape this crisis … I am innocent and therefore I will not escape,” she stressed.
The DOJ issued an immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) against De Lima and five others allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.
The other subjects of the ILBO were former justice undersecretary Francisco Baraan, former Bureau of Corrections chief Franklin Jesus Bucayu, De Lima’s former driver Ronnie Dayan and former aide Joenel Sanchez, and former Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission head Reginald Villasanta.
A subject of an ILBO can still leave the country but must seek the permission of the DOJ for it to be able to monitor his or her whereabouts.
De Lima said she rarely went out of the country to travel and that she would have a good reason in case she would travel, like an invitation to a speaking engagement abroad.
“Even if they are doing this to me, I will face all of that, because I don’t want to show any weakness,” she added. SFM/rga