De Lima, Trillanes call Duterte 'pathological liar' over coming DAP cases

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Leila De Lima and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday called President Rodrigo Duterte a liar after the chief executive claimed that the government is preparing cases against the two fierce administration critics in relation to a controversial budget disbursement program in 2013.

Duterte, on Wednesday, said that a case related to the Disbursement Acceleration Program against De Lima was "coming up."

Accusing Trillanes of earning from the budget scheme ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the president, who admitted lying about the senator's supposed accounts in Singapore in a recent television interview, said that the senator would soon face his own DAP-related case.

De Lima called the cases "blatant lies blurted out by Duterte himself."

The senator is detained in Camp Crame on what she claims are trumped up charges related to her alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade at the National Bilibid Prison during her time as Justice secretary.

She also labeled the president a "pathological liar."

"The latest lie is about my alleged involvement in an alleged DAP anomaly, along with Senator Trillanes. Wow! What kind of lies are Duterte and his evil lieutenants concocting this time?" said the senator in her latest written statement from detention in Camp Crame.

This is another of Duterte "invention," according to Trillanes, who claimed that the forthcoming case against him is just an effort by the president to divert the public's attention from the chief executive's humiliation after he was able to disprove his allegations that the senator had bank accounts in DBS Singapore.

"Anyway, na-audit na lahat yan ng COA at na-clear lahat yan na walang anomalya," the senator said.

The information on his DAP- and Priority Development Assistance Fund projects is available on his website, according to Trillanes who launched his political career after he mounted two unsuccessful coup attempts against then President Gloria Arroyo allegedly because of corruption in the government and military.

De Lima said that Duterte's lies were "parroted and gleefully swallowed" by his "underlings."

"Malinaw po – Hindi lang mamamatay tao ang pangulong ito, kundi ubod po ng sinungaling," she said.

De Lima said that she is still praying that Duterte would admit that all the charges filed against her were "fabricated."

"I may be asking for a miracle. Still, I pray for one," she said.

In 2014, the SC ruled that several acts under DAP were "unconstitutional" such as the declaration of unobligated funds as "savings" and cross-border transfer of money to agencies outside the executive branch.

President Benigno Aquino III defended the DAP at the time and said that this was done to accelerate public spending and spur economic growth.

Just recently, former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who was released on bail, was floated as a possible witness in the DAP cases of the government. It was Estrada who revealed the DAP scheme in a privilege speech in 2013. He has also admitted to receiving project allocations through the DAP and said that these allocations were not bribes.