Senator Leila de Lima disclosed during a Senate hearing Thursday that her cellphones have been tapped, prompting her to ask the authorities if it was because she was being suspected as a terrorist or a drug lord coddler.

“Ayaw ko ho sanang tanungin ito o ayaw ko ho sanang i-raise ito kasi syempre hindi naman siguro ipagkakaila kasi may mga nagsabi na sa akin matagal nang na tapped ang aking mga cellphones,” De Lima said during a hearing of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs.

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“So what legitimate purpose is being served kung ganun? Terrorist ho ba ako o dahil yung sinasabi ng iba na (drug) coddler ako? Yun ho ba ang purpose kung bakit tina-tap ang mga cellphones ko ngayon? I don’t expect anyone to answer that question, I’m just thinking aloud. Huwag na ho tayong maglokohan kasi mahilig kasi akong manood ng mga detective stories e,” said the senator, who is being linked to the illegal drug trade by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte himself.

(I did not want to ask this or to raise this, anyway, it cannot be disputed since I had been told before that my cellphones have been tapped.

(So what legitimate purpose is being served if that were so? Am I a terrorist, or is it because I am being tagged as a drug coddler? Is that the purpose behind tapping my cellphones now? I don’t expect anyone to answer that question, I’m just thinking aloud. Let’s not fool ourselves, anyway I am fond of watching detective stories.)

Philippine National Police Chief Director General Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, who was at the hearing, responded to de Lima’s query anyway, saying his cellphone was also being tapped.

“Your honor, I’m also suspecting that my cellphone is being tapped,” De la Rosa said, drawing laughter from the hearing room.

De Lima, who also laughed at the PNP’s chief reply, then asked who could be wiretapping their phones.

“Assuming, Director General De la Rosa, assuming totoo po rin yan, na naka-tap din ang inyong cellphone, sino ho kaya ang gagawa nun?” she asked.

“Your honor , we have no control over the technology. Meron tayong mga foreigners na may technology na ganun, at wala tayong control sa kanila. They can monitor our conversation from far away place. Yun ang problema natin,”

(Assuming Director General De la Rosa, assuming that it’s true, that your cellphone is being tapped, who could be behind it?

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(You honor, we have no control over the technology. We have foreigners who have that kind of technology and we have no control over them. They can monitor our conversation from a far away place. That’s our problem here.)

If indeed it was true that her cellphones were being tapped, De Lima said she could not care less since she said she was not violating any laws anyway.

“Why should I care about that…Pwede nilang pakinggan lahat yan (They could listen to all of it). Anyway, I’m not the one violating the law. I’m not the one violating the rights of others. That’s always my attitude…” she added. CDG/rga

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