CAMP CRAME, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles,  Quezon City Bureau) – Only in the Philippines can a criminally-charged and incarcerated senator continue to use official stationery to criticize political opponents and enjoy media attention on a daily basis.

Today, Senator Leila De Lima released yet another handwritten note, this time urging the Filipino people to listen to what self-confessed murderers had said in their testimonies before the Senate.

Edgard Matobato and retired police officer Arthur Lascañas had both testified at Senate hearings about the alleged Davao Death Squad (DDS) during the time that President Rodrigo Duterte was city mayor.  Both men had admitted to taking part in the DDS.  For Lascañas, he denied the existence of the DDS in his first testimony, but later recanted his sworn statement in a second hearing last week.

It appears, however, that De Lima had written a different version of her letter published in the news media.  What was published was a revised version upon the urging of her legal counsel.

In the first version, a photocopy of which was obtained by The Adobo Chronicles, the senator called Matobato and Lascañas “murderers, liars and perjurers.”  She also urged her supporters to listen to her “lying colleagues in the Senate,” although she didn’t mention any senators by name.