Sen. Leila de Lima reiterated on Sunday night that she will not attend the "sham" hearing of the
House of Representatives on the alleged drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
"With or without an invitation, I will NOT attend that hearing. I will not even send any representative, lawyer or even an observer," De Lima said in a statement.
The House of Representatives' Committee on Justice has scheduled a hearing on House Resolution 105 filed by Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez, partymate and ally and President Rodrigo Duterte.
The resolution seeks an investigation into the alleged proliferation of drug syndicates at the NBP.
De Lima said she was not recognizing the hearing.
"It is a sham inquiry, with no objective other than to demolish or destroy me, upon orders of the President," the senator said.
Alvarez filed the resolution following Duterte's allegation that De Lima was involved in the illegal drug trade in the NBP during her time as secretary of the Department of Justice, which has jurisdiction over the prison facility.
Duterte had said De Lima was the highest government official involved in the drug trade in the NBP, based on a matrix that he recently showed to the media.
In a hearing on the spate of killings of drug suspects last week, De Lima presented self-confessed assassin Edgar Matobato.
Matobato claimed he was a member of the infamous Davao Death Squad, which was alleged ordered by Duterte to kill De Lima. —ALG, GMA News
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