- Solicitor General Jose Calida released a photo of De Lima with notorious drug lord Jaybee Sebastian
- The picture was allegedly taken inside Sebastian’s ‘kubol’ at Bilibid
- Calida warned the photo is only a ‘teaser’ and vowed to reveal more
- De Lima slams Calida’s allegation as part of a demolition job to malign her reputation
MANILA, Philippines – Solicitor General Jose Calida has released a photo suggesting former Justice Secretary Leila De Lima’s alleged link to convicted druglord Jaybee Sebastian and vowed to show more evidence to prove his allegation.
In the photo, De Lima is seen with Sebastian and an unidentified man who is talking to the notorious drug lord.
It was allegedly taken inside Sebastian’s exclusive and posh ‘mansion’, known as ‘kubol’, inside the National Bilibid Prison, supposedly the country’s maximum security prison facility.
Calida did not disclose the circumstances behind the purported meeting between the former Justice Secretary and Sebastian but promised to reveal more photos when the right moment comes.
“She looks good in the picture. What was she doing in the mansion of Jaybee Sebastian?” the Solicitor General asked.
“And there are many other photos. Ito pa lang ang teaser,” Calida told GMA News.
Demolition job
Reacting to the photo, De Lima dismissed Calida’s allegation linking him to Sebastian, leader of one of the two most powerful groups inside Bilibid, the other being Herbert Colangco.
“I denounce in the highest possible terms this latest demolition job linking me to maximum security inmate Jaybee Sebastian or to any other convicted or suspected drug lord or operator now or in the past,” said De Lima in a statement.
De Lima added she is categorically denying all the insinuations that she extended protection or accommodation to any criminals, adding that such moves are obviously intended to malign her reputation and undermine her duties as senator of the republic.
“Throwback Thursday” photo
In explaining how she ended up in a photo with the Sigue Commando gang, De Lima said the picture may have been taken during one of the Management Committee (ManCom) meetings of the Justice department, but added such activities were covered by the media inside the premises of Bilibid and was attended by Bureau of Correction (BuCor) officials.
“At the sideline of the event, the ManCom members mingled with some inmates during certain activities on the same day as part of the reformatory program of BuCor. It is most likely where the photograph was taken and is now being shown by Calida out of context,” De Lima said in the statement.
“May I suggest for Calida to stop his fixation on ‘Throwback Thursday’ photos of me, and instead just start doing his real job of reading the 501-page decision on the West Philippine Sea case,” she added.
The feisty DOJ chief-turned-senator also vowed she will not be intimidated by the attacks on her as a person.
A few days ago, a video maliciously linking De Lima to Colangco surfaced on social media, drawing negative reactions from the public; only to be quashed by claims that the man with her was not the convicted drug lord but rather actor-politician Alfred Vargas.
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