Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA — The leaders of the majority and minority blocs in the Senate on Wednesday expressed opposing views on President Duterte’s recent admission of “personally” ending the lives of drug suspects, with one considering it a “hyperbole” and the other “surprised” at the statement.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said Mr. Duterte’s statements Monday night, when he told business leaders that he “used to do it (killing) personally” — and had gone out on patrol “looking for an encounter to kill” drug suspects during his time as Davao City mayor — could only be part of the President’s manner of speaking.
“To some people, it could be wrong. To some people, there would be liability. But if indeed there are liabilities, then file a case against him,” Sotto said.
“We don’t know how it (killing) happened, if it really happened, or if it is what is called a hyperbole,” he said.
The lawmaker, a former Dangerous Drugs Board chief who has been long supportive of the President’s fierce stand against drugs, expressed admiration for the commander-in-chief for having the guts to take action against the drug scourge.
“He is really hell bent at stopping the problem with illegal drugs. As a matter of fact, I envy him. When I got in the Senate, all my bills and privilege speeches were about drugs, because I was really seething at illegal drugs, from then until now,” Sotto said in an interview.
“But I do not have the same fire in the belly as the President, that’s why I envy him that he can do that. If I had the same fire in the belly, I would have done the same thing given how angry and seething I was at drug traffickers,” he said.
Sotto said the President’s admission could not be used to impeach him, saying those who would like to pursue cases against him should just do after Duterte’s term of office.
President Rodrigo Duterte and Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
“Impeach him if he had done an impeachable offense as President. When he is no longer President, if they want, file a case against him, whatever case they want to file,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto, meanwhile, said he was “not just surprised, but shocked” at the President’s statements.
“I was surprised to read that in the papers today. I don’t know in what context he said it, I didn’t watch it, I just read it in the papers today, but I was very much surprised because the other day, he said he had not done it, or something to that effect,” said Recto in an interview.
“So today, I was surprised to read that in the papers. I don’t know in what context, I don’t know if that was just a joke. That’s surprising to me,” he added. SFM