Senator Leila de Lima on Tuesday shot back at Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, saying the evidence that he had against her was like his toupee—fake and only cosmetic.
Aguirre this week said he would file criminal and administrative charges against De Lima over allegations that she used drug money to bankroll her senatorial bid.
According to De Lima, nothing's authentic among the evidence against her.
“What is real however are the killings. What is tragic is that these killings continue unabated. And the criminals, including these so-called vigilantes, are getting bolder; while the victims are getting younger,” also said De Lima who initiated a Senate investigation into the spate of extrajudicial killings under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
De Lima was later ousted as chairman of the Senate justice and human rights committee, after she presented a self-confessed hitman who said Duterte was behind the killing of more than 1,000 criminals and political opponents when he was still mayor of Davao City.
De Lima noted that 20,584 minors have reportedly been exploited into drug use and peddling.
She said the Justice Department should focus its efforts in investigating and prosecuting the syndicates, “the real culprits who force these minors to go into drug pushing.”
Aguirre insisted the government had evidence against De Lima, in the testimony of two National Bureau of Investigation officials who said they delivered drug money to her house.
In an interview on Tuesday, De Lima challenged Aguirre to freeze her alleged banks accounts that would purportedly link her to the illicit drug operations.
De Lima said she has grown sick and tired of the allegations being raised against her. However, she is confident that the banks would not do that because she said the accounts did not belong to her.
De Lima reiterated that the bank accounts being linked to her were fake, and noted the absence of any negative findings about her by the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
Reacting to De Lima’s statement, Aguirre again brought up sex videos of De Lima and her driver, Ronnie Dayan, videos that the senator said do not exist. He said he saw all three alleged videos of De Lima, which he said could be used in court.
When asked if he believed the videos were really of De Lima, Aguirre cited the appearance of the senator’s dog in one of the videos.
Aguirre also did not discount of having Dayan serve as a witness against De Lima, should he surface and tell all he knew about the illegal drug trade in the NBP.
He said that Dayan could still get immunity for as long as he will speak the truth. He added that House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez could also offer the same immunity given to the witnesses who testified in the House's inquiry on the proliferation of illegal drugs at the national penitentiary.
However, he said that the Justice Department already have enough evidence to pin down De Lima, even without Dayan's testimony.
Source: The Standard
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