MANILA, Philippines — Detained senator Leila De Lima on Sunday slammed Malacañang’s move to dismiss the resolution submitted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors condemning the country’s war against drugs.
The resolution, authored by American Congresswoman Jackie Speier, slammed the Philippine government for its alleged “state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings by police” amid the country’s war against drugs.
The resolution also slammed De Lima’s arrest.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, however, called the resolution a “toxic and unacceptable intrusion to our legal processes and an outrageous interference with our country’s sovereignty.”
READ: ‘Toxic intrusion’: Palace hits San Francisco Supervisors’ reso on drug war
“How very frightened is this Administration, that the Palace just recently, through Spokesperson Panelo, quickly reduced the Resolution passed by the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco… into an issue of colonization – still under a false and blind belief that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the state policy of murdering thousands to ‘solve’ the drug problem in our country,” De Lima said in a statement.
De Lima added that instead of explaining why the war against drug is effective, the administration opted to condemn the resolution.
The senator said the administration also chose to be silent on issues that attack the country’s sovereignty, particularly on matters involving China — such as the West Philippine Sea dispute, the increase in the number of Chinese workers in the country, and the destruction of Kaliwa Dam for Chinese-funded projects.
“Nanahimik ang Palasyo, minsan pa nga ay dumepensa. Hindi sa mga pagkakataon tulad nito, na ang hangad lamang ng mga nagsasalita laban sa Drug War ay ipaglaban ang buhay at karapatang pantao ng mga Pilipino,” De Lima said.
“What kind of government do we have that it takes offense from the concern and care of others for the lives and human rights of Filipinos – fundamental rights that our government never seem to put a premium on?” De Lima added.
De Lima then said that the real addiction in the country is not the use of illegal drugs but rather the “breaking of laws, of raping of lady justice, and of flagrantly disregarding human life.”
“To this administration: you can lie, you can offer your flimsy excuses, you can even defend your wrongs – but you can never run far away from the fangs of justice,” De Lima said.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolution came after five senators submitted another resolution which also slammed the purported role of the government in the “state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings by police and other armed individuals as part of the war on drugs.” /ee
READ: San Francisco Supervisors’ reso aims to discredit Duterte admin—DILG exec