Dispatch from Crame No. 1071:
Sen Leila M. de Lima on Duterte's Denial of Access to PNP Drug Operations Records

No one is surprised that the President would hide the grisly records of his drug war under the cover of national security, not only because it was convenient for him but also because he and his government have much to hide. Not to mention he has a penchant for "bravado" and is a chronic liar.

The fact that the Department of Justice even had to ask permission to look into or investigate PNP record is an anomaly in itself. Bakit kailangan magpaalam ng DOJ para imbestigahan ang krimen na naganap kahit pa PNP ang may sala?

Democracy demands accountability. Karapatan ng bawat Pilipino na mabigyan ng hustisya kahit sino pa ang may sala.

Duterte's denial of access to PNP drug war records under the fallacious claim of national security shows that he is afraid of the truth: that it is his orders that led to the extra-judicial killings that ended the lives of thousands of Filipinos under the pretense of a war on drugs.

Palibhasa, sa pagsasapubliko ng mga records na ito, hindi lang mabubunyag ang naging mga paglabag ng awtoridad. Makikita rin dito ang katotohanan kung paanong sa pag-udyok at pagkunsinte ni Duterte, lumalala ang karahasan, pag-abuso at brutal na pagpatay ng kapulisan.

(Access the handwritten version, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatchno1071)