De Lima to Duterte camp: ‘Puwede ba tigilan niyo na ako?’

Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima has publicly pleaded with the camp of former president Rodrigo Duterte to halt what she described as a “repeat attack” on her reputation.

“Puwede ho ba tigilan niyo na ako? (Can you please leave me alone?) Stop it,” De Lima said in an ambush interview Monday, shortly after filing a perjury complaint against 18 alleged former Marines before the Department of Justice.

The complaint challenges new allegations linking her to alleged deliveries of cash in suitcases and paper bags—claims she says are “false and politically motivated.”

“Ginawa niyo na yan dati sa akin (You’ve done that to me before)… unjustly detained for almost seven years for trumped-up, politically motivated, fabricated charges,” she added, recalling her previous detention over bogus drug trade accusations.

De Lima denounced the latest accusations, which alleged she received P30 million to P70 million following meetings with former officials including ex-Congressman Zaldy Co, ex-House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and former National Security Adviser Eduardo Año.

“Lahat po yun kasinungalingan. Pagtanggap ko ng pera saan man yan linagay, sa maleta, sa paper bag, o anumang container. Napakalaking kasinungalingan. Ito na naman, inulit na naman nila (All of that is a lie. Whether I received the money and wherever it was placed—whether in a suitcase, a paper bag, or any container. It’s a huge lie. Here we go again, they’ve done it again),” De Lima said. 

She went on. “They are besmirching my name, smearing my reputation… No more please, no more. Stop your lies against me.”

She reiterated that the allegations were intended to mislead the public and damage her credibility.

Her appeal comes amid a spate of criminal complaints linked to supposed kickbacks, which De Lima and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV have consistently denied.