President Duterte and Sen. Leila de Lima INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
“DE Lima, you are finished.”
President Duterte has stepped up his attacks on one of his staunchest critics, Senator Leila de Lima, whom he had accused of having used drug money to fund her senatorial campaign.
“Tapos ka na. Sunod [na] eleksyon?” Duterte thundered during a midnight news conference in Davao City that ended past 1 a.m. Thursday.
The President’s latest outburst against the lady senator was triggered when a reporter asked Duterte’s thoughts on the De Lima-led Senate inquiry into the killings of drug suspects by policemen.
On Wednesday afternoon, the President also held a news conference where he announced that he was validating a “matrix” showing De Lima’s connection with jailed drug lords in New Bilibid Prison.
“I will show you, maybe this week the matrix— I’m just validating— the matrix of Muntinlupa connection. De Lima is there… It would show her role there,” he said. “I could not believe it.”
“What is really sad for this country, here is a woman posturing [herself] to be a crusader for good government. But because she could not stop her immorality— well, to De Lima’s credit she is legally annulled like me and is a bachelorette— but her sex escapades led her to commit several serious violations of law,” Duterte said
Also on Wednesday the Department of Justice announced that six witnesses would testify against De Lima.
Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said that the witnesses — NBP inmates, guards and people close to De Lima — have already given their testimonies linking her to Bilibid drug lords.
Despite the harsh words, Duterte complimented De Lima, saying “she looks nice.”
“By the way, fighter talaga. Fighter talaga,” he said./ac