De Lima says Duterte attacking her anew to divert issue on Paolo’s hand in smuggling of drugs

Senator Leila de Lima on Friday said President Rodrigo Duterte has launched a fresh tirade against her in an attempt to divert attention from the alleged involvement of his son, Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, in the smuggling of illegal drugs.

In a statement, De Lima said Duterte’s timing in employing a “diversionary” tactic “using his favorite punching bag” comes days after his son’s name was mentioned in a House committee hearing on the recent P6.4-billion shabu shipment from China.

“Duterte continues to cover up his failures, this time his own son’s possible involvement in the smuggling of drugs by using his long-running obsession with my supposed immorality as a diversion[-ary tactic],” De Lima said.

On Wednesday, Duterte claimed he looked for De Lima’s detention cell in Camp Crame while he was in the vicinity for the 116th Police Service anniversary. De Lima is presently detained at the police headquarters over drug-related charges, which she has repeatedly denied.

On this, De Lima said: “Apparently, the President has enjoyed secretly watching me through a CCTV monitor so much, just like a neighborhood peeping Tom, that he could not avoid sharing this experience with the world.”

Duterte also criticized the European Union (EU) for visiting De Lima, and even brought up anew the alleged sex video of the senator.

"With all the, you know… pati ‘yung pardon… ‘yung video. Hindi niyo tinignan kung anong klaseng babae ‘yan? And they come here and say na she’s a prisoner of conscience. My God," Duterte said.

"Sandali lang, I’m trying to replay the video. Huwag kayong maingay, you are disturbing me. I can still see the dog na ‘yung karga-karga niya palagi sa opisina niya," he added.

De Lima said Duterte only aims to make the “big story” disappear.

It was middleman Mark Taguba who mentioned in a House committee hearing that Paolo Duterte is being “name-dropped” by corrupt Bureau of Customs (BOC) employees. Paolo had called the claim a “lie.”

But De Lima said the mention of Paolo's name in the ongoing hearing on the P6.4-billion shabu shipment proves the earlier claim of confessed hitman Edgar Matobato that the Davao vice mayor is involved in smuggling.

Matobato, who earlier claimed to have been a security escort for Paolo, said the vice mayor is not only involved in the killings, but also in the smuggling of rice and oil.

“This story is being repeated again, although now on a national scale,” De Lima said.

“Although a lot has yet to be uncovered and proven before any case is solidly built against Paolo Duterte, the controversy offers a delectable story that the President’s drug war is merely paving the way for his son’s rise to power in the criminal underworld as the country’s number one drug lord and smuggler,” she said. —KG/KVD, GMA News