De Lima admits mistakes in affair, then clams up

Sen. Leila de Lima INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Leila de Lima on Tuesday called on the public to respect her privacy after her nationally televised admission of a relationship with her former driver and bodyguard Ronnie Dayan.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, De Lima said she would no longer discuss her past relationship with Dayan as she gave the assurance that her private affairs would not affect her public duties.

“I have already said my piece and I would not want to add anything more other than what I have repeatedly said in the past interviews. I do hope that you will respect my right to privacy over my personal life and not impute any more malice,” De Lima said, issuing a statement after granting a brief interview with reporters.

She conceded that she had made mistakes in certain decisions and relationships in her personal life, and that she has learned her lessons.

“Like many of us, including my detractors, some decisions and relationships in our past have not been the best and the wisest. I have learned from these experiences and resolved to use my pain to focus on the good I can do,” she said.

The lawmaker, who has found herself in a firestorm after President Duterte accused of her of drug involvement, said she has always been able to separate the personal and public aspects of her life.

“I have never allowed my personal life affect my work in public service,” she said.

She said she would not waver in her advocacy against extrajudicial killings even while her staunch stand against the Duterte administration’s anti-drug war, which has led to nearly 4,000 deaths including vigilante hits, has drawn the President’s ire.

“My mission right now is to stop the extrajudicial killings and summary executions happening in our country, as well as to address other social issues. I am even more determined in pursuing this goal despite the danger to my life and reputation,” she said.

In an interview aired Monday night on GMA News TV, De Lima, who has been separated from her husband for some time, admitted to host Solita Monsod that she had a relationship with Dayan, himself previously married.  SFM/rga

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