Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez and Senator Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Wednesday lashed back at Senator Leila De Lima who called on Alvarez to look at himself in the mirror after he called De Lima a serial liar.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Alvarez was asked for his reaction to De Lima’s advice to Alvarez to look at himself in the mirror, after the Speaker called De Lima a liar for constantly denying her alleged links to the drug trade that was being investigated by the House of Representatives.
READ: De Lima lashes at Speaker, vows to face her detractors
De Lima called Alvarez “narrow minded.”
Alvarez returned the question to De Lima and asked her what his was lie about when all the House wanted to do was investigate her for her alleged role in the proliferation of drugs at the New Bilibid Prison.
“What have I lied [about]? Ano ang pinagsisinungaling ko rito? In fact, ‘yung House of Representatives, we conducted the hearings in aid of legislation, investigating the proliferation of drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison. Gusto lang namin malaman kung ano ‘yung nangyari, why the illegal drugs proliferated in the New Bilibid Prison during her incumbency as the Department of Justice Secretary,” Alvarez said.
(What have I lied about? What was my lie? In fact, we in the House of Representatives conducted the hearings in aid of legislation, investigating the proliferation of drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison. We just want to know what happened, why illegal drugs proliferated in the New Bilibid Prison during her incumbency as the Department of Justice Secretary.)
READ: Show-cause order vs De Lima served to Senate
Alvarez said it was only De Lima’s own opinion when she said she was only obstructing her own persecution when she gave the advice to her former driver and lover Ronnie Dayan not to show up at the House probe.
Dayan was arrested and brought to the House where he testified that he delivered drug kickbacks for De Lima from Eastern Visayas drug lord Kerwin Espinosa.
The House has issued a show cause order asking De Lima to explain why she tried to obstruct the testimony of a witness in the House investigation.
READ: De Lima to let Senate act on House show-cause order
“That’s from her own point of view. You know, what’s difficult with Senator De Lima is she is a serial liar. Lahat na lang sinungaling, siya na lang ‘yung nag-iisang nagsasabi ng totoo. You know, the people are intelligent enough, matalino ang sambayanan, alam nila kung sino ‘yung nagsisinungaling at sino ‘yung nagsasabi ng totoo (Everyone to her is a liar, only she is the one telling the truth. The people are intelligent enough, the public is smart enough to know who is lying and who is telling the truth),” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said the House is mulling on three options against De Lima: issue a warrant of arrest for contempt of court, file an ethics complaint against her before the Senate, or file a case for disbarment before the Supreme Court.
Alvarez defended lawmakers who asked lewd and sexually charged questions to Dayan about his affair with De Lima, adding that the details of the affair must be disclosed to reveal what kind of person De Lima is.
Alvarez said the House has to break the image De Lima portrayed as an uncorrupted graft buster when she was justice secretary.
“Hindi naman umabuso ano, because ganito ‘yung sitwasyon. Here is a woman who pretends to be clean and pino-portray niya ‘yung sarili niya as graft buster, crime buster, talagang ano siya, malinis,” Alvarez said.
(They did not become abusive. Here is our situation: here is a woman who pretends to be clean and portrays herself as a graft buster, crime buster, that she’s clean and not corrupt.)
“So how do you demolish her credibility? So dapat palabasin mo ‘yung what kind of a person is she. Ano ‘yung pagkatao niya. So kailangang malaman ‘yun ng sambayanan,” he added.
(So how do you demolish her credibility? We have to reveal what kind of person she is, what’s her personality, which the public needs to know.)
READ: House, Senate concur: Ethics rap, not arrest warrant, vs De Lima
In a separate interview with GMA News also on Wednesday, Alvarez advised De Lima to tell the truth to the nation.
“Ang payo ko sa kanya ay harapin na niya ‘yung katotohanan, maging honest na siya doon sa sambayanan. Tama na ang pagsisinungaling.)
(My advice to her is, face the truth, be honest to the nation. Enough with the lies.)
“Alam na ng taong bayan kung sinong nagsisinungaling at sinong nagsasabi ng totoo,” he added.
(The nation knows who is lying and who is telling the truth.)
Despite a threat to have De Lima arrested, the leaders of both Houses of Congress have agreed to just let De Lima face an ethics complaint for allegedly convincing Dayan to go into hiding and snub the House probe.
De Lima has said she would not honor the show cause order and snub the House as a “kangaroo court.” JE
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