Ambush interview of Sen. Leila M. de Lima

De Lima: Let me first start by saying this: I wish to apologize for the outrage last night, and the walkout. But I'm addressing po itong apology sa publiko, kasi naghihintay rin po ako ng apology doon sa mga kasamahan ko. Masyado hong masakit at hindi katanggap-tanggap yung inaakusahan ka ng bagay, o mga bagay na hindi mo naman ginawa o ginagawa.

Let's start with the so-called material concealment. Hindi ko po maintindihan kung bakit ang bilis nila akong inakusahan, that I committed some form of material concealment. Yung kayo pong mga nandun kagabi, ewan ko po kung naintindihan niyo po kaagad yung punto ko. Dahil ang sinasabi nga na bakit ko daw hindi sinabi, yung tungkol doon sa filing ng kidnapping case against Matobato. And then I think I started saying something like, 'He may not have mentioned that, but I have that in my notes.' And I also said something like, 'Kasi di ko matandaan kung nasabi niya yan during the hearing o tinanong siya.'

I cannot be expected na pinapakinggan ko ang lahat ng mga sinabi ni Mr. Matobato noong mga nakaraang hearings, noong nag-testify siya. And I cannot be expected na every time meron dapat ipaliwanag, i-clarify doon sa sinasabi ni Mr. Matobato ay tatayo ako, para ipaliwanag ko. Kasi hindi naman nga ho iyon ang proper na sabat ako nang sabat, yung sumisingit ako para lang mag-clarify for anything.

So it turned out, kasi sabi ko nga hindi ako sigurado nasabi na iyon ni Matobato, kasi at the back of my mind, posibleng nasabi niya iyon o hindi. So it turned out, pinoint-out ni Sen. Sonny, na andun pala sa transcript, sinabi pala iyon ni Mr. Matobato na ganoon nga, meron finile a case for kidnapping against him on the account of the Sali Makhdum incident, na parang na-dismiss, dahil either inayos o dahil hindi naman daw recorded yung entry ni Makhdum, kundi sa backdoors lang dito sa Pilipinas.

So, since it was disclosed already by Mr. Matobato, nasaan po yung concealment on my part? Hindi ko po maintindihan. Material concealment, that is a very serious allegation. I am not guilty of that.

Q: Why do you think Sen. Gordon is not accepting yung sinasabi niyo na walang material concealment?

De Lima: Hindi ko po alam. Sa tingin ko po sa kanya, I don't want to be saying negative things now kasi it might just create further animosity or hostility. Nakita niyo naman ang atmosphere kagabi. Na-corner na siya, pinakita na ho sa kanya yung transcripts. And so I was saying, there was no concealment, there was nothing to conceal dahil dinisclose na pala yung fact na yan ng mga witness. So bakit kasalanan ko na ngayon? It's already on record, hindi kasi sila nagrereview noong TSN, they're not checking facts, and then basta na lang sila aakusa ng ganoon.

And then, lalo pa hong nakakasama ng loob na we were also being accused doon sa pag-alis ni Mr. Matobato kagabi. I think he left already. And as Sen. Trillanes stated, in-explain ni Sen. Trillanes na it was his judgement call, since gabi na raw po, kailangan na nila i-extricate palabas si Mr. Matobato. It's not safe anymore for his security, lalo na yung mga tao na tinuro niya na alleged members ng DDS, nandun sila. At meron pa silang kasamahan na pakalat-kalat. So in the minds of those guys securing Mr. Matobato hindi na safe. That's the explanation of Sen. Sonny.

Tapos inaakusahan kami na deliberately na pinaalis namin si Mr. Matobato dahil daw may tinatago or what. In the first place, wala naman palang tinatago kasi nandun na nga sa transcript. And then the earlier...di ba this testimony of this Ayao, di ba kung ano yung sinasasbi. Then some of the senators, including sina Sen. Gordon and Sen. Lacson, they were making a big fuss out of it.

Q: Do you feel you were ganged-up on?

De Lima: Yes, definitely. Honestly Honestly, I felt na ganun nga po, they were ganging up on me, and then they were not listening to me anymore dun sa arguments ko against the claim of alleged material concealment. Pinaninindigan na lang nila yung akusasyon nila yung akusasyon na yan, that there was allegedly material concealment. So under the circumstances, I think maiintindihan niyo po ako kung bakit ganun.

Q: Ma'am...prospect that the hearings will be cut short...?

De Lima: Sana wag naman. Now, ang nagiging problema ay tungkol dun sa testimonya ni Mr. Matobato kasi nga from Day 1, hostile na talaga yung iba diyan. From Day 1, ayaw naman talaga nilang maniwala kay Mr. Matobato kaya nga every opportunity that they can have in terms of pointing out the alleged inconsistencies, lapses, etcetera, they took it, na habang ako lang yung parang, you know, "taking the cudgels", na trying to explain also, trying to ano Mr. Matobato naman.

Now, kung yan ang problema kay Mr. Matobato, and since they are so uncomfortable with the testimony of Mr. Matobato, then wag naman sana ho maapektuhan yung pinaka-hearing dun sa spate of killings, yung subject matter ng unang resolution since yung tungkol kay Mr. Matobato and the alleged DDS, ay that's the subject of a subsequent resolution filed by Sen. Sonny, di ba.

Pero yung pinakaunang resolution po ay yung resolution ko on the spate of killings. And in fact, the committee has yet to hear out also the testimony of the CHR witnessess. Meron ngang dalawa kahapon, sabi ng CHR na nandyan kahapon just in case magkaroon ng chance na ma-present. So sana itong mga pangyayari na ito ay wag naman po maapektuhan yung pinaka-hearing dun sa pinaka-subject matter na extrajudicial killings because you know, that would be a travesty of truth, a travesty of justice na maraming biktima ho yung EJKs. Hindi ho ako ang ano dito.

Kaya I feel so bad, and I hope the people will understand kung bakit ganun na naman, nag-ano na naman ako, emotional outburst na naman ako, dahil ginagawa na nga yan sa akin sa House, all of those accusations. Masakit na inaakusahan ka ng mga ganyang bagay, drug links, etcetera. Tapos ganun ulit ang gagawin sa akin ng aking mga mismong mga kasamahan, na I'm being accused of those, material concealment.

Q: Some senators, actually they are going to propose na i-terminate lang yung DDS, not the EJK.

De Lima: I will defer to them. Kung ako lang ang tatanungin, siyempre, I will still push for that because the people deserve to know. Kaya ko prinesent yan si Mr. Matobato nung nagpadala ng emissary na gusto na niyang lumabas, I do believe na related yan sa EJKs because of the pattern of killings in Davao. Now, para lang hindi masyadong ma-ano dun sa recent killings, kaya ng nagkaroon ng panibagong resolution, a separate resolution.

Q: Will you join the caucus,caucus ma'am?

De Lima: If they invite me. And as a member, I hope they invite me, because I have to air my side. Baka isang side lang yung marinig ng ibang senador nung hindi naman po present kagabi. I really felt so bad because they were ganging up on me, and unreasonably ganging up on me. You know, and then, statements like, 'taken for a ride', or 'you and Matobato have fooled the Senate.' What an accusation! It's so cruel. It's so unfair.

Kasi for the past weeks I was trying to always control my emotions. Nandededma na lang ako sa mga ginagawa sa akin, sa House, etcetera. Pero may hangganan din. It started with my presscon nung medyo nag-ano po ako...may hangganan na po. I'm also a human being and I'm a woman. I have feelings. I know how to get hurt. And I'm now so deeply hurt.

Kaya siguro maintindihan niyo kung bakit paminsan-minsan nagkakaganito po ako. I don't deserve all of these. I'm just trying to help. I want the people to know the truth. So bakit ginaganito ako?

Q: Do you see any orchestrated plot among the allies of President Duterte to block all your efforts to come out with the truth and possibly, pin down the President on his past liabilities?

De Lima: We don't know, because this all started now when I went ahead with my resolution to investigate the EJKs. Lumala nang lumala, even if dati ko na nga pong narinig na ganito ang gagawin sa akin, that they will destroy me at all cost, because that is what the President wants. Ito yung magnitude po, yung scale ng persecution, ng crucifixion na ginagawa sa akin. Sobra na, sobra na. That's why, nagkakaganito nga ako paminsan-minsan because hindi ho talaga katanggap-tanggap sa akin na inaakusahan ako ng hindi naman tama, ng wala namang katotohanan.

Walang katotohanan yang drug links na yan. Walang katotohanan na naman yung mga sinasabi kagabi about me engaging in material concealment, and then yung making a big fuss yung sinabi ni Ayao. Wala namang laman yung testimonya ni Ayao. Para bang imputing something inappropriate on my part, if at all it is true na kinausap ko siya noon sa Davao na hindi ko nga matandaan yan kung nangyari yan. And then, itong about, you know, taking them for a ride and all that. I will never do those things. I'm the sort of person who does things na yun ang akala kong tamang gawin, kahit mag-isa lang ako. To do this and to make it worse, ano pa nga ba? Lahat na lang. Lahat na lang sa akin pinupuntirya.

Q: Ma'am, how do you feel na...sinadaya kagabi na paabutin hanggang gabi kasi tumityempo lang sila dahil gusto talaga nilang i-terminate yung hearings, ma'am?

De Lima: Pumasok din po yun sa utak ko na parang minamadali. I already manifested something like, I'm already exhausted, physically and mentally. But I could feel the sense...kasi yung explanation nga nila they came all the way from Davao and kailangan na nilang bumalik. Because risonable naman ako. So even if I really felt so exhausted already, I went along. Little did I know na ganun ang kalalabasan nung proceedings last night, nag nagkainitan dahil nga sa unfair criticism sa akin.

Q: Do you see it as orchestrated, ma'am?

De Lima: I wouldn't know.

Q: Ma'am, yung sa House hearing, were you aware na nag-back down si Speaker Alvarez dun sa supposed...?

De Lima: I saw it on the paper. Dapat naman talaga. If there's any sense of decency left in these men in the House of Representatives, they better think twice about that demented plan of theirs, to show that alleged sex video. Many have reacted already. I'm so moved by the outpouring of support, especially from women's groups. Hindi naman po talaga tama yan. Kahit anong anggulo tignan mo yan, hindi po tama yan, just to shame me. Wala namang relevance yun. Wala namang materiality yun dun sa subject matter na kanilang iniimbestighan, irrespective of the authenticity of the alleged sex video tapes, matagal na nila yang pino-float, yang alleged sex video na yan. And then, ngayon na naman, ganyan na naman ang sasabihin nila o gagawin nila. Have you no shame? Have you no shame? Tanungin niyo na lang po yan sa sarili niyo.

Q: Ma'am, how do you feel na every time may mga emotional outburst kayo, nagwa-walkout, kini-criticize kayo...sa mga memes after

De Lima: Mga memes yun, so natural lang yun. Sanay na po ako sa mga ganung criticisms. Pero, ano, dalawang beses pa lang naman ako na-criticize at hindi naman ako yung tao na basta ko na lang gagawin yun na walang dahilan. That's my best expression of protest, my best way of expressing my protest, of the things happening. Hindi ko na po nagustuhan. I was being...hindi na nila ako pinapakinggan. So what's the point of staying there? To be further crucified by them? I was clearly outnumbered.

Q: Ma'am, may nag-reach out na senator sa inyo kagabi?

De Lima: None. I'm waiting for their apology. Ang apology ko now ay sa publiko ko. Yung apology ko na sinabi ko ngayon na pasensya na kayo dun sa outburst ko, sa pag-walk out ko, hangga't maaari hindi dapat ho talaga yan ginagawa, pero humihingi rin po ako ng paumanhin, humihingi po ako ng pag-unawa na wala na rin po akong choice kagabi. It's too much already. Ano pong punto ko dun? Para lalo nga akong i-crucify, lalo nga akong ganunin?

I still have my self-respect and self-esteem, notwithstanding all the things, cruel things that are being done to me by the members of the House, some members of the Senate, and then yung mga cohorts nila sa labas, yung mga operators na yan, yung mga nagga-gather ng mga fabricated evidence na yan, hindi ho sila humihinto hangga't sa nakikita nila nakatayo pa ako. But I have to continue standing because I don't want to give them the pleasure of seeing me beaten dahil alam ko po tama ang pinaglalaban ko.

Q: Ma'am, si Sen. Trillanes, na lang ba yung nakikita niyong kakampi niyo?

De Lima: Yeah, at least nandiyan si Sen. Sonny. Isa pa pala yun. I was also surprised. Buti na nga lang nandun si Sen. Sonny. I was also surprised about another reaction of Sen. Gordon about yung hindi daw po...at least you already said, you already admit that you were the one granting protective custody. Eh dati nang dinisclose yun ni Sen. Sonny, na kaya nga ako nagpatulong sa kanya kasi hindi ko kayang protektahan si Mr. Matobato. So bakit parang kinukuwestiyon niya kagabi si Sen. Sonny?

And then, another angle, naalala ko lang, pasensya na kayo, I'm just really defending my position, another angle was that some of them were just saying, one or two of them were saying, 'kung alam lang namin ganyan ang istorya tungkol kay Makhdum, bakit mo sinayang ang oras nitong mga witnesses na ito, itong mga resource persons?' Hindi lang naman yun tungkol sa Makhdum incident ang nabanggit ni Mr. Matobato. So bakit may mga ganung, almost, distortions?