Sen. Leila De Lima made a puzzling answer on the accusations against her, from a relationship with her married driver, to the driver-lover being a drug bag man: "May konting totoo dyan pero karamihan exaggeration." She did not elaborate on what are the truth and what are the exaggerations.
De Lima said she opted to keep mum about the president's accusation since she had already previously denied the drug accusations against her.
"I've denied it many times before. So, I’m denying it again. That’s an absolute lie; that’s completely false! I would never do that because I’ve never betrayed my oath as a public servant and I don’t intend to betray my oath as a public servant, especially that I have a mandate," De Lima told reporters.
"I've denied it several times in various interviews because remember these are the insinuations that I am a protector, coddler of drug lords or drug convicts because I am a beneficiary. They said I'm on their payroll and that they contributed to my campaign funds," she said.
"You know why I am completely silent? it's very difficult for me because I don't want to be publicly engaging and answer each issue separately, etcetera," De Lima said.
Amid the denials, De Lima said there are some snippets of truth in what Duterte said. But most of them are mere exaggerations. “But this what I can tell you. We’ve seen some snippets of facts, snippets of truths, but the bulk of it are distortions, exaggerations, and lies,” she added.
De Lima strongly denied that she has someone gathering money for her from the National Bilibid Prisons.
She, however, has not directly addressed the allegation that she is in a relationship with his driver.
“This is what I can say at this point. Okay, may kaunting totoo d'yan, pero karamihan d'yan, exaggerations, distortions, and lies. And foremost of the lies, is yung sinasabing na may nangongolekta para sa akin sa Bilibid. That is an absolute lie,” she said.