Dispatch from Crame No. 622:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's statement on the DOJ's latest move in beefing up its Prosecution Team against her

10/9/19

I detest in the utmost sense the latest move of DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra to deploy an army of special prosecutors led by no less than the Prosecutor General himself, PG Malcontento, for the sole purpose of prosecuting the farcical criminal cases filed against me. That the PG himself is so named in no uncertain terms only raises fears of malcontent.

But what is this Sec. Guevarra? Wala na bang aatupagin ang DOJ sa ilalim ni Duterte kung hindi siguraduhing manatili akong nakakulong hanggat mahatulan ng habambuhay na pagkabilanggo? Bakit hindi pa ikaw Sec. Guevarra ang mismong maging punong taga-usig doon sa korte sa Muntinlupa? Bakit mo pa ipinasa kay Malcontento?

Masyado na ninyo akong pinapalaki. Masyado na ring lumalabas ang inyong pang-aabuso sa kapangyarihan at paglustay sa pera ng bayan para lamang masunod ang kagustuhan ng inyong baliw na amo. Hindi personal na law office ni Duterte ang DOJ at ang gobyerno na gagawin lamang mga utusan sa pang-aapi at pang-aalipusta ang mga public prosecutors.

Isa lang ang ibig sabihin nito. Inutusan sila ni Duterte na siguraduhin ang aking conviction. They must ensure my conviction at all costs. Even if it means suborning perjury, as some of these prosecutors are wont to do, as they do now, playing along with their witnesses' lies against me and rehearsing their patently scripted testimonies.

What do they gain if they have the whole world by satisfying their master's whims, but lose their soul?

I will, in due time, hold these prosecutors to account for prosecutorial misconduct or abuse. They are forewarned.

The DOJ so conveniently forgets, at least in my case, that theirs is the mandate not only to go after guilty offenders with the firmest resolve, but also to see to it, with equal resoluteness, that no injustice is done to innocent ones.

(Access the handwritten version of Dispatch from Crame No. 622, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_from_crame_no._622)