Sen. Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ EDWIN BACASMAS
She may be considered “morally flawed” but Senator Leila de Lima said she was not that “flawed” to deserve the personal attacks that she has been getting.
De Lima said she had to defend herself not only from accusations that she was involved in the illegal drug trade but also from personal attacks being thrown at her.
READ: Duterte: De Lima ‘screwing’ not only driver but also the nation
“I have to be honest, I have to be candid. I am a human being, I am not a saint,” she said in an interview on Thursday.
“And I may be considered morally flawed, but I don’t think I am that flawed to deserve all this. ‘Yan ang pinaglalaban ko (That is what this fight is about),” said the senator.
De Lima insisted that the drug allegations against her were all lies and fabrications.
READ: De Lima: I am innocent, I will not escape
She also branded as harassment all cases filed against her, which she said was part of an effort to force her to resign from her post.
“Pilitin nila ako na mag-resign na lang ako para tapos na…Siguro akala nila, su-surrender ako, manghihina na ako, ang loob ko, and then that’s it,” she said.
(They are forcing me to resign to end all these. They probably think I will easily surrender, that I and my resolve will get weak, and that’s it.)
“Hindi ko po gagawin ‘yan kasi inosente nga po ako. Ilang beses ko na ‘yan sinasabi (I will not do that because I am innocent. I have maintained that many times).”
While her accusers might succeed in convincing some people that the allegations against her were true, De Lima remained confident that she would be vindicated in the end.
“I did not receive a single centavo from drug money. Wala. Paninindigan ko po ‘yan dahil yan ang totoo (Nothing. I will stand by that because that is the truth),” she stressed.
De Lima said the accusations against her were simply “unacceptable.”
“That’s why I have to continue fighting up to the end, ano man ang mangyari sa akin (no matter what happens to me). Mabuhay pa man ako in the next two years o mawala man ako dito sa mundong ito, ipaglalaban ko po ito (Whether I live up to the next two years or die, I will continue this fight),” she further said. IDL