WHILE saying that she was “seriously thinking” about running for senator next year, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Tuesday said there was one thing she could not do—to run side by side with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
De Lima said she could not run with Duterte “as a matter of principle.”
“I cannot be at the expense of my principles. I stand by my principles,” De Lima said in an interview with ANC Headstart.
De Lima, a potential senatorial bet of the ruling Liberal Party, said she was already 80 percent sure of pursuing a senatorial bid in the 2016 elections, but ruled out the possibility of running with Duterte under the same ticket.
BACKSTORIES: De Lima’s dilemma: Should I run for senator next year? | Running for senator? De Lima still assessing if politics is for her
De Lima and Duterte have been embroiled in a word war over the past months after the Justice chief threatened to prosecute the tough-talking mayor for his alleged involvement with the so-called Davao Death Squad.
BACKSTORIES: De Lima: Witness links Duterte to Davao Death Squad | Duterte tells De Lima: Sue me | Duterte’s insults won’t stop me, says De Lima
Duterte, who repeatedly said he would not run for president, has met with presumptive LP standard-bearer and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas twice in Davao City, raising speculations that the latter was eyeing the mayor as his running mate in 2016.
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But despite the tension between them, De Lima said she would greet Duterte in case they meet. “I take my job seriously, but I do not take this (word war) seriously.”
Asked what would make her 100 percent certain of running in the Senate, De Lima said good showing in pre-elections surveys would be a good indicator.
“If my ratings would remain and be maintained. To always be within the Magic 12. I cannot be announcing early because really we still have a lot to do in the DOJ,” she said. “If I announce early then many people would make a subject of criticism, my part that I am doing this and that to announce my political agenda.”
LP stalwarts Senate President Franklin Drilon and Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch Abad” previously said De Lima was on the list of the administration party’s potential senatorial candidates, but De Lima said she is yet to receive a formal invitation. With a report by Angeli Mae Cantillana, INQUIRER.net trainee
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