Detained Senator Leila de Lima on Saturday accused groups supporting President Rodrigo Duterte of sharing fake news against her in revenge for her probe of the so-called “Davao Death Squad” when she was still chair of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).
De Lima stressed that Duterte has a long-standing grudge against her ever since she chaired the CHR in 2008.
“[Duterte] has harbored a grudge against me since the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), of which I was the chairperson, investigated his alleged involvement in the so-called ‘Davao Death Squad’, which was brought to light outside his territory of Davao City through the report of then UN Special Rapporteur on Summary Killings, Prof. Phillip Alston,” De Lima said in a statement.
“To hear him recall the investigation, it is clear that he has not forgiven me, a woman, for my temerity to investigate his alleged involvement in the Death Squad,” she added.
According to the De Lima, most of the fake news now spreading over the social media is being shared by pro-Duterte pages and websites.
De Lima, a fierce critic of the present administration, is being detained at the Custodial Center of the Philippine National Police in Camp Crame for her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison.
In March, the Malacañang dismissed the call of former President Benigno Aquino III to the public to support the detained senator.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said De Lima was detained due to drug related charges and not his political affiliations.
“With all due respect to the former president, Senator Leila de Lima is not fighting for her principles and was not detained because of her political beliefs,” Roque said.
“The lady Senator was arrested and incarcerated because of serious drug charges where she was accused of allowing the illegal drug trade to proliferate inside the New Bilibid Prison when she was the DOJ Secretary,” he added.
READ: Roque rebuffs Aquino: De Lima in jail for drugs, not principles
INQUIRER.net has sought comment from Roque on De Lima’s fresh allegations but has yet to respond as of posting time
De Lima adds that a “web of lies” has also been weaved by “political operators” out of revenge for her strong stance against graft and corruption when she was the justice secretary.
“I knew even then that many political operators, including those who have made a career of peddling lies for their own gain, were more than willing to help weave a web of lies about me, whether because of simple self-interest or as revenge for the strong stance I took against graft and corruption in government when I was Secretary of Justice,” she said.
“They say that no good deed goes unpunished, and that public service can be a very thankless job. I know it, I am living it, and I’ve known it even before I ran for office. I cannot say that I did not come into this with eyes wide open. I did,” De Lima added. /muf