De Lima denounces fake news about her supposed death

Re-electionist Senator Leila M. de Lima warned against the relentless spread of fake news against her to deliberately derail her campaign.

De Lima, who has been continually subjected to fake news stories by some sinister quarters, lamented that she has once again been targeted by paid trolls who are spreading false content claiming that she already passed away.

"Why are my enemies and detractors so afraid of me, that they have to spread the fake news on YouTube and social media that I am already dead?" she asked.

A video falsely claiming that De Lima passed away was posted on the YouTube channel Banat Trending News recently.

The fake video entitled "JUST IN! SAWAKAS PDUTERTE! SEN. DELIMA CONFIRMED! PUMANA4AW NA?" showed a recent campaign clip of De Lima taken inside Camp Crame where she is unjustly detained.

De Lima said the persistent attempt of the fake news peddlers to spread lies about her is already beyond condemnation, calling it "an abomination of all sense of decency, fairness, and morality. It is they who deserve to be in jail, not me."

"It is not enough that I have already been unjustly imprisoned for more than five years. It is not enough that I am running for re-election with the handicap of campaigning from jail, without being able to go out to talk directly to voters about my program of government and convince them why I deserve a renewed mandate.

"It is not enough that I'm not being allowed to conduct live video and audio interviews with the media, or participate in senatorial candidates' debates and fora as if the mere sight of my face and sound of my voice will cause some instability or be a threat to national security," she said.

"All of these are not enough, for them to still go on spreading lies to derail my campaign, handicapped as it already is. What these people are doing is already beyond condemnation," she added.

De Lima said she is determined to bring the matter to court, in due time. "This cannot be allowed to go on. I am instructing my legal team to file the necessary legal action against those responsible for this fake news."

To set the matter straight about her health, De Lima stressed that she is "as healthy as I need to be and as long as I have to in order to bring all those responsible for my persecution before the bars of justice."

In an earlier statement, De Lima said she believes that fighting fake news and disinformation against her can help secure victory in her reelection bid in the 2022 national elections.