Press Release
December 14, 2019

Dispatch from Crame No. 675:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Further Remarks on the Unanimous Approval by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee of S. Res. 142

12/14/19

I say with utmost candor that this strong, and resoundingly unanimous and bipartisan support for me and my causes from the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and earlier, from the Appropriations Committee, is further proof of the fakeness of the charges against me.

Kung may natitira pang duda na ako ay inosente, at biktima lamang ng pamumulitika at personal na paghihiganti ng mga tinamaan ng aking pagganap sa aking tungkulin at pagsisilbi sa Bayan nitong nakaraang mahigit sampung taon - burado na po iyon dahil sa malinaw, matapang at matinding suportang ito.

The unanimous support of all the twenty-one (21) bipartisan members of the US Foreign Relations Committee puts the final nail on the coffin of the blatant lie that Duterte uttered, and shared with certain Philippine Senators during a dinner in 2017, that the intel reports about my alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade came from the US.

He lied to the Filipino people to their face.

These top US policy and law makers from both the Democratic and Republican parties, who have access and are privy to critical and confidential information affecting US relations with other countries, would not set aside their political differences and unanimously go out on a limb to support me, and stake their reputation, if they harbored even a hint of doubt about my innocence.

These are learned and well-informed statesmen and women, who have access to considerable networks of contacts and sources of information. Hindi sila tataya para sa isang nakakulong na Senadora mula sa Pilipinas kung may katiting silang duda na baka totoo ang mga paratang sa akin.

These lawmakers have come together to support me, not just because of the injustice done to me, but more importantly because of the worsening human rights situation in the Philippines, and its impact on our democracy.

Kung ang nangunguna sa pagtuligsa sa akin ay isang sinungaling na duwag humarap sa hustisya para pagbayaran ang kanyang mga kasalanan, at ang tanging mga testigo laban sa akin ay mga pawang halang ang kaluluwa, siguro nga ay may katotohanan ang kasabihang: tell me who your enemy is and I will tell you who you are. I am proud to be their enemy and a threat to them. So I say to them: You can never defeat the truth. Mag-isip-isip na kayo because truth and justice will always prevail. ###

(Access the handwritten version of Dispatch from Crame No. 675, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_675)

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