MANILA, Philippines—Senator Leila de Lima was angered by President Rodrigo Duterte’s snide remarks regarding Vice President Leni Robredo, telling her to “mamatay ka na (just be dead already)” in one of his weekly addresses intended to provide an update on the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
In a dispatch sent from Camp Crame, de Lima said Duterte’s remarks were not a Freudian slip or a slip of the tongue but a hallmark of murderers who don’t care if their acts end in senseless abuse.
“Duterte wishing VP Leni dead is no damn joke! It is exceedingly vile and evil, satanic and stupid, and extremely unpresidential. The Office of the President is the primary implementer of the Constitution’s design, not a murderer’s evil desire,” said de Lima Wednesday.
“Hindi Freudian slip ‘yang sinabi niya. Tabas ‘yan ng dila ng mamamatay-tao. ‘Yang bunganga niya walang ibang lumalabas kundi pagpatay. (That’s not a Freudian slip. That’s how a murderer talks. That mouth hasn’t said anything but kill.)”
De Lima finds nothing funny in what Duterte had said, adding that his new speech has done nothing but blackens the Office of the President.
The detained senator, a staunch critic of the administration, added that Duterte should focus on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic instead of focusing on the elections and his rivals.
“Itong COVID-19 ang tutukan mo, hindi ang pagsira kay VP Leni. Nasa gitna pa tayo ng pandemya, eleksyon na inaatupag n’yo. Napakalaki ng naitutulong ni VP Leni at ng Opisina ng Pangalawang Pangulo upang hindi tuluyang mawalan ng pag-asa ang mga Pilipino at malugmok ang Pilipinas. Dapat ka pa ngang magpasalamat sa kanya dahil sinasalba niya ang pag-asa ng mga Pilipino na may magandang hinaharap pa pagkatapos mo dahil sa’yo walang kapaga-pag-asa!”
(Focus on COVID-19 and not on this slander against VP Leni. We’re in the middle of a pandemic and you’re focusing on the election. VP Leni and the Office of the Vice President have done so much so that the Filipinos won’t lose hope and that the Philippines wouldn’t go deeper as it is. It would help if you thanked her because she’s saving the hope of the Filipinos who will have a brighter future after what you’ve done. After all, what you did was take away any semblance of hope!)
“Mr. Duterte, matulog at magkulambo ka na lang kung wala rin namang matinong lumalabas sa bibig mo (Mr. Duterte, just go back to sleep under that mosquito net because you’ve said nothing beneficial from that mouth of yours).”