'Hindi pwedeng walang mananagot': De Lima team plans 'day of reckoning'

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'Hindi pwedeng walang mananagot': De Lima team plans 'day of reckoning'

ABS-CBN News

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Updated Nov 14, 2023 02:22 PM PHT

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Now that she is out on bail, ex-senator Leila de Lima may soon be planning her next move including possibly taking action against those who accused her of having links to illegal drug cartels inside New Bilibid Prison.

De Lima spokesperson Atty. Dino de Leon confirmed the team is already discussing the timing when it will initiate moves for a reckoning on her "political persecutors."

"As to whether it should be initiatived, she also mentioned: 'Hindi naman pwedeng walang mananagot lalong-lalo na dun sa mga bumaboy ng justice system,'" he said in an ANC Dateline Philippines interview.

He noted the former justice secretary understands "the reason why she was jailed is because the fight is bigger than herself, it is because of her political convictions and her belief in the rule of law, in the justice system and democracy."

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"Those people who authored this frame-up should be held to account. Those who are engaged in political persecution should be held to account," she said.

De Lima had been in jail for over six years on what she says were fabricated, politically motivated charges intended to silence her criticism of then-President Rodrigo Duterte and his bloody war on drugs.

De Lima spent 10 years investigating"death squad" executions said to have been orchestrated by Duterte while he was mayor of Davao City and early in his presidency.

Her work began during her time as Philippines human rights commissioner and continued during her tenure as justice secretary.

She was elected to the Senate in 2016, the same year Duterte became president after running on a tough "law and order" campaign.

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De Lima, one of Duterte's fiercest critics, railed against his so-called "war on drugs," even as Duterte publicly demeaned her in speeches and accused her of working with criminals to run a prison drug-trafficking ring during her time as justice secretary.

ROQUE 'PEDDLING LIES'

In the interview, De Leon castigated ex-presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for claiming that ex-president Rodrigo Duterte had nothing to do with the drug charges against De Lima.

"It is unfortunate that he is now peddling lies. He knows that these are lies, he knows that for a fact. Why does he know that for a fact? He has constantly heard Rodrigo Duterte say that 'Leila de Lima, you are finished. Leila de Lima, you will rot in jail.' And then all of a sudden here comes Harry Roque who used to be a defender of human riights who will claim that he has nothing to do with the cases against [De Lima]," de Leon said.

Duterte was the first to accuse De Lima of alleged links to narcotics syndicates by releasing an alleged "drug matrix" in 2016, which De Lima vehemently denied.

Roque earlier said Duterte never filed a case against De Lima or even testified against the former senator despite the accusations.

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De Lima, who was arrested in 2017 under the Duterte administration, was acquitted in a conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading case in May, with Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 saying the recantation by former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos of his testimony had created reasonable doubt.

In the interview, de Leon said De Lima's more than 6-year incarceration was too long and described the ordeal as a lonely battle against "the greatest frameup...subsidized by taxpayers' money."

"It wasn't just her being incarcerated, she was politically atacked every step of the way. Her reputation was destroyed by an organized machinery of the state. This is the greatest frameup, and not just the greatest frameup. It was subsidized by taxpayers' money," he said.

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