Sen. Leila de Lima (Photo from her Facebook page)
Senator Leila de Lima on Monday blasted former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile for his “self-serving” attempt to “whitewash” his responsibility on the various atrocities and human rights violations during Ferdinand Marcos’ martial rule in the country.
Last September 20, in a one-on-one interview with Marcos’ son and namesake, former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Enrile claimed that during martial law not even one person was arrested or executed over political beliefs or criticism of the late dictator.
“In distorting history, Enrile is only whitewashing his own role in this dark chapter of our nation’s history,” De Lima said in a statement, referring to Enrile’s role as defense minister and martial law administrator of Marcos.
“His account is therefore nothing but another self-serving attempt to absolve himself from responsibility for the tortures and murders he helped perpetuate as Marcos’s henchman,” she added.
READ: Enrile: No massacres, no arrests for criticizing Marcos during martial law
For De Lima, Enrile’s liability during martial law is the same as that of Marcos because he was in charge of the military activities back then.
“Before turning against Marcos, Enrile, as Defense Minister, was of course the regime’s Martial Law enforcer. He was as responsible as Marcos for the thousands killed, disappeared, tortured, and imprisoned during Martial Law,” De Lima noted.
De Lima further pointed out that the uproar against Enrile’s claims was a confirmation that he is lying.
“Fortunately for former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, he is blessed with a long life and a sharp mind. But late in life, he still has chosen to squander these on the perpetuation of lies about martial law,” she said.
“Unfortunately for him, many of their victims – those who survived the torture chambers – are still alive to remind us of the truth […] His fabricated accounts were met with as much protestation then as now,” she added. /kga