Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. —MALACAÑANG PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Leila de Lima is willing to accept the apology of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. for describing her as “fat lady” in a tweet but on one condition – stop making offensive statements.
“Since you have apologized, I am willing to accept your apology on the condition that you desist from any further misogynistic and insulting statements against me, aside from spreading fake news about my physical appearance,” she said in a statement.
“Especially nowadays, since your boss’s actions of detaining me [have] caused me to be conscious of my weight, hence, shed several pounds, and stay healthy to survive the persecution. I am not thanking him for it. I’d rather be fat and free than be slim but shackled,” the opposition senator added.
On Friday, Locsin tweeted: “If the US regards a fat lady who should be happy to have her day in court to clear her name of charges – charges a Supreme Court of honor law graduates ruled twice as valid (as opposed to US senators merely elected) – as more important than our mutual defense well then so be it.”
Later in the day, he apologized and described De Lima as someone “admirable in her feistiness.”
“If the US regards a lady who should be happy to have her day…’ An honest slip of the finger. Anyway, she’s admirable in her feistiness. Others guilty or innocent would have thrown in the towel but she won’t. She’s a lady of quality in that respect,” said Locsin.
De Lima further called Locsin’s apology as “so kind” but told him that “there is absolutely nothing wrong with being fat.”
“‘Fat’-ness being a bad thing is just another construct of the misogyny that your boss Duterte propagates to attack women of conviction. It attacks ideas and principles on the basis of the advocate’s physical appearance,” she said.
For De Lima, fat-shaming, like slut-shaming, is “just another one of the many weapons in the arsenal of misogynists to attack women.”
“One more thing. You commend me for my feistiness. Yes, I am feisty and fearless because I am INNOCENT,” she added.
Last month, President Donald Trump signed the United States $1.4-trillion budget for 2020, which includes a provision that allows the Secretary of the State Mike Pompeo to prevent Philippine officials involved in the “wrongful imprisonment” of De Lima from entering the US.
President Rodrigo Duterte later ordered the Bureau of Immigration to bar US Senators Dick Durbin and Patrick Leahy who pushed for the entry ban, as well as Sen. Edward Markey for calling for the release of De Lima, who has been detained since 2017 for alleged drug charges.
Just recently, Duterte warned he will terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement if the US will not “correct” its cancellation of Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa’s visa. Dela Rosa was the first appointee of Duterte as chief of the Philippine National Police in 2016.