Former Senator Leila de Lima on Tuesday, July 5 said she agrees that the war against illegal drugs should continue under the Marcos administration, but this time there should be no more extrajudicial killings nor any manipulation.
“Absolutely, the anti-drug campaign must be pursued relentlessly, this time within the bounds of law, sincerely without fear or favor, and infusing effective drug rehabilitation programs,” de Lima said in a statement.
“No more EJKs. No manipulation of post-operation reports. No falsification of death certificates. No cover-ups,” said the former lawmaker, who until now, is still detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center and facing drug charges.
But de Lima said the Marcos administration should intently run after big-time suppliers and distributors and the real drug protectors and co-conspirators in the illegal drug trade.
“Prosecute them vigorously. Including prosecution witnesses in my cases who, despite their open-court admission as to their involvement in the Bilibid drug trade, and disqualified as state witnesses, were spared from prosecution by Duterte's DOJ (Department of Justice) in exchange for their false testimonies against me,” she pointed out.
“It is time to pursue a true anti-drug campaign that addresses the real causes for the proliferation of drugs, that truly solves the bane of drug dependency, and unafraid to go after big-time drug lords,” she stressed.
De Lima, who failed to win a re-election bid during the May 9, 2022 senatorial elections, has repeatedly denied her involvement in the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) when she was still the DOJ chief.
She has been detained since 2017, describing the charges against her by the Duterte administration as “trumped up” and “fabricated.”
Some of the witnesses against de Lima have already withdrawn their allegations against her saying they were “coerced” to testify against the senator out of fear.