De Lima: I won’t resign
Senator Leila De Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
THE idea of resigning amid left and right accusations against her has crossed Senator Leila de Lima’s mind.
But after much reflection, De Lima realized that resignation would be “an admission of guilt and a sign of weakness.”
“Resignation at this point will be an admission of guilt and a sign of weakness. And I’m neither weak nor guilty,” she said in an interview on Monday when sought for comment on President Rodrigo Duterte’s resignation call.
She refused to further talk about her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade, saying she was already tired denying it.
“Wala muna ko sasagutin tungkol sa matrix-matrix na yan, ano. Sawang-sawa na ko sa kaka-deny. Ganun lang naman talaga ang gagawin ko. Because yun naman ang alam kong totoo. Wala akong kinalaman dyan, yan ang totoo. So ayoko nang magsalita nang magsalita tungkol dyan,” De Lima said.
The senator also reiterated her word that she would not attend the planned inquiry at the House of Representatives into her alleged involvement in illegal drugs since she said she was already “judged guilty” by the President.
“Mahirap. Alam ko naman wala akong kinalaman dyan. And I’m judged guilty already by the President. And then you think that House Speaker will be anything near fair to me? “she said, referring to Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who belongs to Duterte’s PDP-Laban.
“I’m already judged guilty, I’m finished in so far as the President is concerned kaya nga ako pinapa-resign. Tapos haharap ako dun? Wala na kong kahihiyan sa sarili ko nun ah,” de Lima added.
Duterte did not only call on de Lima to resign but he also advised her to hang herself.
“The innermost of your core as female (is) being serialized every day. Dapat mag-resign ka. You should resign,” Duterte was quoted as saying in his speech during a hospital visit to a wounded police officer in Tacloban City earlier this Monday.
“If I were De Lima, ladies and gentlemen, I will hang myself,” the President said./rga
READ: Duterte tells De Lima: Resign, hang yourself
