When senator Leila De Lima’s cellphone number was inappropriately exposed for public consumption at a Senate hearing on Tue, Sep 21, her haters took it as an invitation to express their contempt for the politician who has been linked to the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison.
The senator said that received almost 2,000 messages of hate from unknown persons as of Tue night. Some called her the “vilest of names” and others threatened her life.
De Lima’s number was (inadvertently or purposely, we do not know) aired on national television and live-streaming websites after convict Herbert Colangco was asked for the cellphone number that he called in Jan, 2014, when he allegedly discussed a drug transaction with De Lima’s then-secretary.
To make things worse, the Department of Justice even issued a certification regarding De Lima’s number.
Feeling harassed, the senator described the inquiry of the House of Representatives as “a blatant exercise in harassment and persecution.”
“I condemn and vehemently protest the sheer indecency and foulness of allowing my cellphone number and home address to be publicly disclosed. They have victimized me over and over again, and just when I thought I could not feel more betrayed, they have once again proven that I have underestimated their audacity and evilness,” she said.
Her home address was exposed to the public as well. The senator said that her rights to privacy and security in communications have been destroyed.
The whole process, according to De Lima, who truly loves her metaphors, has turned people into “weapons of destruction.”
“They are making me into an example of what will happen to those who dare criticize and call out the abuses of those in power. Who would dare stand up for others now? The real victim here is the people, the oppressed,” she said.
