Detained Sen. Leila de Lima wants to become president someday, President Duterte bared last Thursday.
The President talked about De Lima’s political ambition and alleged criminal involvement to fund her senatorial and subsequent presidential campaign during his visit to Leyte.
Duterte made the remarks after threatening to bar the US senators supportive of De Lima from entering the country.
“They refused to believe De Lima is a criminal, that she was collecting money to use in her campaign. She just wants – that’s ambition. She wanted to run for senator because she wanted to run for president,” he said.
Duterte claimed that De Lima, currently detained pending trial on drug involvement charges in Camp Crame, Quezon City, has pretended to be “innocent,” and some US senators have fallen for such farce.
“You have a very big… You were even having exhibition, tsuk, tsuk, tsuk, tsuk, tsuk. Have you seen it? Didn’t you find it disgusting? She even did this. (Smacks lips) Ah, son of a b****,” he said.
“And now she’s lying to death, pretending she’s innocent. These foolish Americans, crazy, crazy, cowards, idiots, crazy. They believed that De Lima’s case was just fabricated by the government.”
He maintained that it was now up to the court to decide on the case of De Lima.
“The case was tried in court, it has even reached the Supreme Court but it has been returned there. So how can that be possible? Even here in Leyte, can someone do that? Will no one admonish you and say, ‘Mayor, don’t do that, that’s not true. Don’t invent stories. Tell the truth,'” he said.
The Supreme Court recently junked De Lima’s petition for Writ of Habeas Data, a legal remedy that would supposedly protect her from Duterte’s attacks. The court ruled that Duterte is immune from suit during his presidency.
Duterte had earlier slammed US Senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy who introduced a provision that calls for the US entry ban on anyone involved in the detention of De Lima. In retaliation, the Palace announced last month that the President has ordered immigration authorities to deny the two senators entry to the country. (Genalyn Kabiling)