MANILA, Philippines – Senator Leila de Lima dared Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Thursday to tell the 11-year-old child of a couple reportedly killed in the government’s drug war that her parents died for resisting arrest.
The detained lawmakers issued this challenge after Panelo said deaths in the government’s drive against illegal drugs would continue to rise if Filipinos will violently resist arrest during police operations.
READ: Palace: Drug war death toll to rise if suspects violently resist
“I dare Mr. Panelo to tell that to Mary Ann and to the thousands of orphans and widows of EJKs, whose prospects of a happy and simple life have been destroyed due to this administration’s lust for blood and utter lack of humanity,” De Lima said in a statement.
“The suffering of these families of the EJK victims is beyond measure,” she added.
De Lima was referring to the case of Mary Ann, who begged to commuters in order to save for her mother’s funeral.
According to reports, Mary Ann’s mother was shot dead last December 16 after being mistakenly included in the drugs watchlist. Her father was also killed during an operation, also under the government’s anti-drug campaign.
De Lima said she would not allow Panelo to “poison the public’s mind” regarding the administration’s drug war.
“I cannot, however, allow Presidential Spokesperson Panelo, to continue to poison the public’s mind with the Duterte administration’s oft-repeated but flawed proposition that the increasing number of deaths due to the crackdown on drugs was because suspected drug offenders have all resisted police arrest with violence,” she noted.
“This murderous war on drugs must end, and we should not relent on our efforts until the death toll stops and those responsible are made accountable before the bar of justice,” she added.
De Lima, a fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, then reiterated her appeal to her colleagues to continue pressing the current administration to recognize the extent of damage left to the families of drug war victims. /kga