FORMER senator Leila de Lima is preparing to take legal action to seek redress for her incarceration in order to prevent future presidents from doing to others what was done to her.
De Lima said she and her legal team are discussing their plan of action to determine which is the best legal option for them to take.
De Lima, one of the fiercest critics of the killings and abuses that took place under president Rodrigo Duterte, had said that the drug charges that led to her detention were fabricated and were filed to silence her.
“It’s really about justice. Iba yun, kahit pinatawad mo na ang isang tao, kailangan mo pa rin na makamit yung hustisya,” she said in an interview with the show “Sa Totoo Lang.”
If she would do nothing, what was done to her could be done to others, she said.
“Iniisip ko nga, kung wala ako gagawin, what will prevent future Presidents, future leaders to be doing this thing for vindictive, vengeful purposes? Ginagawa ko lang naman yung trabaho ko,” she said.
“It’s a matter of justice na meron talagang reckoning dahil biniktima nila ako,” she added.
De Lima said she has forgiven the witnesses, the operators, and all those who were involved in efforts to detain her, except for one person, apparently referring to Duterte.
“He knows what exactly he did to me. So dapat he must acknowledge yung gravity, the grave injustice, the travesty of justice, yung mga pang aapi niya. So kailangan siya talaga humingi ng kapatawaran, hindi lang sa akin kundi sa mahal na panginoon,” she said.
She also said former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II is one of those she is targeting for legal action.
“But again exactly what is the specific course of action, the specific case that is under discussion,” she said.
Former Senator Franklin Drilon earlier said Aguirre could be held accountable for the crime of subornation of perjury for coercing former Bureau of Corrections chief Rafael Ragos to sign pre-written affidavits to implicate De Lima in the drug trade.
Ragos has since recanted his statements against De Lima.
Drilon said those involved in the unfounded and fabricated charges against De Lima could be held liable for the same crime as well.
Subornation of perjury is committed by a person who knowingly and willfully procures another to swear falsely, and the witness suborned does testify or subscribe an affidavit under circumstances rendering him guilty of perjury.
Drilon, a former Justice Secretary, said the procedures that led to the filing of charges against De Lima should be reviewed.
He called on the Supreme Court to investigate the delay in her case, as he said there needs to be changes in the rules to prevent such delays from taking place again.
