SEN. LEILA de Lima INQUIRER PHOTO/Kimberly dela Cruz
Senator Leila de Lima has cried foul that President Rodrigo Duterte has resorted to “character assassination” when the latter talked about an unnamed senator, whom he described as an “immoral woman” for allegedly having an affair with a driver.
“May nagsabi nga sa akin ngayon lang so it’s very surprising,” de Lima told reporters on Wednesday when sought for comment. “Ang first reaction ko ngayon, ayaw ko nang patulan yan. I don’t want to dignify that. It’s so foul. It’s character assassination.”
READ: Duterte blasts female senator: She’s ‘immoral’, an ‘adulterer’
De Lima said the President should have not resorted to character assassination since they are both professionals and public servants anyway.
“It’s very foul. Saan man nanggaling yang information na yan, sana dino-double check, sana inaalam ang source,” she said.
The senator said she was nevertheless unfazed by the President’s statements, saying these would not affect her resolve to investigate the spate of killings in the country under the Duterte administration.
“Hindi po ako matitinag,” De Lima said though she admits that the timing was “very bad.”
“I don’t know kung ano ho ang agenda that they are resorting to character assassination. That’s a very clear case of assassination and I don’t expect the President to do that, sa totoo lang,” she said.
Duterte, in a speech earlier, talked about a senator, who allegedly has a lover collecting money for her during the campaign.
“Here’s a senator complaining. One day I will tell you that her driver himself, who was a lover, was the one collecting money for her during the campaign,” the President said.
“An immoral woman, insofar as the driver’s wife is concerned, it’s adultery,” Duterte further said.
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