“Why is he fixated on me?” This is the question of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima following the latest pronouncement of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte that he will campaign against Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and the ruling Liberal Party if she will be in the administration party’s ticket in 2016.
Duterte, in a television interview, said he might even decide to run for a national position in next year’s polls if De Lima would run for senator under the Liberal Party.
The animosity between Duterte and De Lima goes way back when the justice secretary was still head of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) when the body conducted a probe on the Davao Death Squad (DDS).
In May, De Lima said the government had a witness against the DDS. She added that Duterte, who said in an interview over a local television program that he was the DDS, should be held criminally liable.
But later on, Duterte said his statement was meant to challenge his critics to prove their allegations.
“Kasi nag-usap na tayo. I told you hindi ko talaga ginagawa yan kasi abogado ako. Pareho tayo. G*g* ka ba? (We have already spoken. I told you I don’t do that because I’m a lawyer just like you. Are you stupid?)” Duterte said, referring to De Lima.
Duterte further said that if a case would be filed against him, he would waive preliminary investigation on the condition that De Lima would execute an affidavit so he can cross examine her.
In Thursday’s interview with reporters, De Lima said, “I hope he (Mayor Duterte) stops na. Hindi na nakakatuwa (I hope he stops it. It’s no longer funny).”