De Lima will return to Senate to ‘voluntarily surrender’ to arresting team

Sen. Leila de Lima (File photo by NOY MORCOSO III/INQUIRER.net)

Updated: 8:34 p.m., Feb. 23, 2017

Sen. Leila de Lima announced on Thursday that she would voluntarily surrender to authorities, following the issuance of arrest order against her for alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

But since she had not received the arrest warrant by early evening, De Lima said she would go home first to spend the night with her family.

“Since sa ngayon po at this very moment – 7:20 p.m. – wala pa naman pong nag se-serve ng warrant of arrest sa akin, ninanaiis ko muna po na umuwi muna para makapiling ko na muna po… ang aking pamilya at para kunin ko na po yung mga dadalhin kong gamit sa kulungan,” an emotional De Lima said in a hastily called news conference at the Senate.

(“Since at this very moment – 7:20 p.m. – no search warrant has been served to me, I would want first to go home to be with my family and to get the things I would bring with me to jail.”)

Her colleagues in the Liberal Party – Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon and Senators Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino – were all present at the news conference.

“So uuwi po ako ngayong gabi, at babalik po ako dito bukas ng umaga, at dito ko po sa Senado hihintayin ang arresting team. Hihintayin ko po sila. Kusa po ako na susuko sa kanila. Pero sa ngayon po, gusto ko na muna po makapiling ang aking pamilya sa bahay. Babalik po ako bukas ng umaga.”

(“So I will go home first tonight, and I will return here tomorrow morning, and here at the Senate I will wait for the arresting team. I will wait for them. I will voluntarily surrender to them. But for now, I would want to be with my family at home. I wll return tomorrow morning.”)

While she called the arrest order “questionable,” De Lima assured the public that she would face the charges against her and would not go into hiding.

She said the arrest order was questionable because the court was scheduled to hear on Friday a motion to quash that she filed on the three charges against her. In fact, she said, the Department of Justice had even asked the court to postpone the hearing to March 3.

“Kaya po nagulat po kami lahat na biglang in-issue yung order of arrest and warrant of arrest,” she said. “Katulad po ng nasabi ko na dati, wala po akong balak takasan yang mga kaso ko. Wala po akong balak magtago dahil haharapin ko po ang mga kaso na yan.”

(“That’s why we were all surprised that the warrant of arrest was suddenly issued. As I said before, I have no intention of running away from my cases. I have no intention of hinding because I will face all those cases.”)

Despite this, the senator said, her fight would continue. But she asked the public to pray.

“Sa inyo pong lahat, humihingi lang po ako ng inyong dasal na sana maging safe and secure po ako saan man nila ako dadalhin, saan man nila ako ikukulong. Alam niyo naman po na yung mga so-called charges na finile sa akin ay nonbailable,” she said.

(From all of you I’m asking for prayer that I would be safe and secure wherever they might take me, wherever they might detain me. You know, of course, that the so-called charges filed against me are nonbailable.”)

“Tuloy po ang laban ni Leila de Lima,” De Lima added.

(“Leila de Lima’s fight continues.”) /atm