Malacañang has come up with this ridiculous response that I should have included myself in the list I submitted to the US State Department of the people who should be banned entry to the US for being responsible for my persecution. Malacañang says I should also be banned entry to the US because I am also a human rights violator.
First reason why the statement is glaringly stupid: I am in prison. All those on the list who caused my illegal and unjust detention are free to travel to the US if their visas are not cancelled. How can I go to the US, or any other country for that matter, if I am behind bars? Ni hindi nga ako makapunta sa Senado, sa US pa? Mga tanga!
Second reason, the list is that of my persecutors, those who violated my human rights in causing my illegal and unjust detention. Ang sinasabi ba ni Panelo ay ipinakulong ko ang aking sarili? Matino pa ba ang pag-iisip ni Panelo? O tuluyan na rin siyang nabaliw katulad ng amo niya?
Third reason, how can the persecuted victim be the human rights violator, when precisely the ground for the persecution is a baseless accusation? Paano ako naging violator kung peke ang mga kaso laban sa akin, at kaninong karapatan ang aking nilabag?
Fourth reason, Sen. Bong Go challenged me to include my name in the list. Mapapatanong ka—may sarili bang utak ito? O sadya lang na nakakahawa pagiging estupido.
Walang nagbabawal kay Bong Go na ireklamo ako sa Estados Unidos. Bakit hindi siyang mag-isa niya ang sumulat sa Amerika? Better yet, Sen. Go, why don’t you go to the White House yourself and complain to President Trump? Yun ay kung papayagang pumasok sa White House ang mga espiya at ahente ng Tsina na katulad mo.
Duterte defends my detention saying I was properly investigated and legally prosecuted.
Sinungaling! Ilang beses mo ba sinabi na ako ay mabubulok sa kulungan bago pa man nag-umpisa ang anumang imbestigasyon? Sino ba ang halos araw-araw na sumira sa aking pagkatao para lamang makaganti sa akin at mapatigil ang aking imbestigasyon sa libo-libong patayang ikinumpas ng Malacañang sa kapulisan? Sino ba ang nang-engganyo, nag-pilit, at nag-banta ng mga tumestigo laban sa akin, gamit ang buong puwersa ng gobyerno?
Noong una ang yabang ni Duterte na isigaw sa mundo na magpakamatay na lamang ako dahil katapusan ko na, at kung hindi ay mabubulok lang ako sa bilangguan. Bakit tila nawala ata ang yabang mo Duterte, at pinipilit mo ngayon na naaayon sa batas ang aking pagkakulong, at hindi lamang dahil iniutos mo? Bakit ka nagtatago sa likod ng batas, samantalang noong araw-araw na pinagbabantaan mo ako ibinasura mo ang batas na nagbibigay sa akin at sa iba pang mga Pilipinong iyong ipinapatay ng karapatan na ituring na inosente hanggat hindi nahuhusgahan ng korte?
Not once has Duterte and his entire government—his Justice Department, his Solicitor General, his Spokesperson, his congressional minions—ever presumed me to be innocent of their made-up charges. How will they when they knew from the very start that I am innocent of all their accusations, but they had just to fabricate the evidence so I can be locked up?
No. In the eyes of this government, from the very beginning, I was meant to be treated guilty in order to maintain their deceptive narrative that they were going after drug lords, when in fact they were persecuting enemies and coddling criminals. The fake investigation and kangaroo trial are just part of the legal charade they are forced to stage for the sake of appearances.
Duterte never recognized my right to be presumed innocent simply because he was the one who fabricated my guilt. His pronouncement that I went through a proper investigation and now undergoing due process is just typical of the excrement that comes out of his mouth every single day.
(Access the handwritten version of Dispatch from Crame No. 728, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_728)