Senator facing arrest steps up attack vs Duterte
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte is a “serial killer” who should be forced out of office, one of his chief critics said Tuesday, as she faced arrest on drug charges which she insisted were meant to silence her.
Senator Leila M. de Lima invoked the famous “People Power” revolution that toppled dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos three decades ago, in her strongest comments yet against Mr. Duterte and his war on drugs that has claimed thousands of lives.
“There is no more doubt that our President is a murderer and sociopathic serial killer,” Ms. De Lima told reporters, as she called on Mr. Duterte’s Cabinet to declare him unfit to lead and urged ordinary Filipinos to voice opposition to his rule.
This was not, to be sure, the first time Mr. Duterte was labeled as such. In October last year, the French newspaper Liberation described the Philippine President in its banner as a “serial killer president.”
Ms. De Lima said the Constitution allowed for a majority in his Cabinet to force Mr. Duterte to step down by ruling that he was mentally incapacitated, and urged members to do so.
There has been no such withdrawal of support in the country’s history. But apart from the late dictator, post- Marcos era president Joseph E. Estrada effectively lost his power in 2001 when the military brass withdrew its support from his presidency, which, however, led to weighty constitutional issues over the legitimacy of his successor.
Ms. De Lima also referred to the mass uprising that in 1986 ended the “iron fist” of the Marcos dictatorship.
“Now the time has come again for us to be brave and stand up to another criminal dictator and his evil regime,” Ms. De Lima said.
She also compared Mr. Duterte to Batman’s foe, the Joker, saying the President was also a “psychotic murderer” who led other villains in committing crimes.
The government last week charged Ms. De Lima, a former national human rights commissioner, with orchestrating a drug trafficking ring when she was Justice secretary in the previous administration.
Ms. De Lima, 57, her supporters and rights groups have said the charges against her are manufactured to silence her as well as intimidate other people who may want to speak out against the President.
“The prosecution of Senator Leila de Lima is an act of political vindictiveness that debases the rule of law in the Philippines,” Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phelim Kine said this week.
“The Duterte administration seems intent on using the courts to punish prominent critics of its murderous ‘war on drugs.’”
Ms. De Lima could be detained anytime, although the courts hearing the cases must issue an arrest warrant.
When asked about Ms. De Lima’s comments on Tuesday, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto C. Abella simply described them as “colorful language” and pointed out that Mr. Duterte would allow public demonstrations against him.
Mr. Duterte, 71, won the presidential election last year after promising during the campaign to eradicate drugs in society by killing tens of thousands of people.
He immediately launched the crackdown after taking office in June and police have reported killing 2,555 drug suspects since then, with about 4,000 other people murdered in unexplained circumstances.
Amnesty International has warned that police actions in the drug war may amount to crimes against humanity.
Late last month, Mr. Duterte ordered police to halt involvement in the drug war after the media revealed that antidrugs officers had kidnapped and murdered a South Korean businessman as part of an extortion racket. — main report by AFP