Sen. Leila De Lima and President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (file photos)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Leila de Lima has filed a resolution expressing the sentiment of the Senate that President Rodrigo Duterte show courtesy and refrain from making statements diminishing respect due to the upper chamber.
De Lima filed the Senate Resolution No. 898 after Duterte’s remarks, specifically against Senators Panfilo Lacson and Richard Gordon, amid Senate’s inquiry into the spending of the national government in its COVID-19 pandemic response.
“Now, therefore be it resolved by the Senate, to express the sense of the Senate that the President should show courtesy to a co-equal institution and urge the President to refrain from making statements intended to diminish the respect due to the Senate or any of its members,” De Lima said in the resolution.
In his public rant, Duterte mocked Gordon’s weight and lengthy interpellations while he also took not of Lacson’s “strange” hairdo.
The President also said that Senate investigations lead to “nothing.”
“As the leader of our nation, the President must set a good example in allowing democratic processes to run its course without undue interference, much less cheap political attacks that do not aid in uncovering the truth behind anomalous government transactions,” De Lima said.
“Any public attempt at discrediting the Senate and preventing the same and any of its committees from performing its mandate could result in a constitutional crisis which serves to weaken our republic to the detriment of our people,” she added.
De Lima added that “petty, inflammatory, and personal statements” by Duterte against the Senate or any of its members “only lead to the erosion of public trust and confidence in our democratic institutions.”
“Transparency and accountability are cornerstones of our democracy and our institutions must work together, rather than hindering each other, in making sure that our people’s money are well spent and that the public officials are being held accountable for the funds entrusted to them,” De Lima said.
“It behooves each of the branches of our government to treat each other with courtesy in the performance of their respective constitutional mandates,” she added.