[Trending Now] Sen. Leila De Lima: 'I Made Mistakes…But Never Did I Betray My Country'

In a women’s forum at Miriam College in Quezon City, Sen. Leila de Lima defended her integrity while admitted that she committed personal mistakes.

 Sen. Leila De Lima has been experiencing a tough battle as the current administration is accusing her of having a connection with the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) drug trade. This is the senator's latest statement in a forum held at Miriam College.

 “I am not the bad and evil woman or slut they’re trying to portray the past few weeks,”-De Lima said in the forum. 

“I have not partied with or slept with any drug convict. I have not received anything from a drug convict or a drug lord or anyone else” De Lima added. 

The senator tried to keep her personal life private from any intrusion but the ongoing investigation of the NBP drug trade made her life story accessible to anyone. 

 “I am not the queen of the drug trade of the Bilibid. I am not the mother of these drug lords and I am not one who… has turned this country into a narco-state because in the first place, our country is far from being a narco-state,” the senator said.

 The senator also admitted that she committed personal mistakes as part of human nature but never did she made any betrayal of the country.

 “And yes, as a human being, as a woman, I have frailties. I have weaknesses. I have certain flaws. As a woman I made mistakes in my personal life and I always considered my personal life as a private matter. It’s a sacred thing to me but now they’ve been intruding and encroaching into my privacy. Yes, I made mistakes and when I do make mistakes in my personal life, I pick up the pieces and move on. But never did I betray my country” De Lima said.

The senator is convinced that her opponents intend to destroy her credibility so no one would listen to her. Not only is she fighting against verbal assaults, she also has to defend herself from attacks coming from her colleagues. 

“Their whole agenda is to crush and break my spirit so that no one would listen to me anymore. Our democracy is in peril” De Lima added.

“Almost everyone of them in the Senate do not want to hear me so I might as well get out of the Senate halls and reach out to you in the hope that you would listen and open your minds” the senator added.

 Meanwhile, she promised that she will not stop speaking out against the President and she will not give up the fight.

“The fight to protect the sanctity of human life and to retain some level of dignity in the face of oppression and inhumanity has been a daily struggle for me. I will continue to fight as long as it takes” De Lima stated.

Source: TNP , Philstar