De Lima’s Christmas wish for Duterte: Have compassion, end EJKs
President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
Senator Leila De Lima, the most vocal critic of the administration’s bloody war on drugs, on Saturday appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to order an end to summary killings of drug suspects this Christmas Day.
In a statement, De Lima said her Christmas wish for the President is for him to wake up on Dec. 25 “with full control of his faculties, and give the gift of the Nativity to the whole nation by respecting every Filipino’s right to live as they were born in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
READ: De Lima to Cabinet: Save nation from a madman
De Lima said her wish for a miracle was for the President to call for an end to the spate of extrajudicial killings of suspected drug pushers and users.
The administration’s war on drugs has claimed over 6,000 lives, including those killed in legitimate police operations and the children killed in the crossfire.
“I wish for a Christmas miracle where the President orders an end to all summary executions, whether by the police or by the death squads roaming our streets, especially during this season of hope and salvation with the coming of the Saviour to our home and to our families,” De Lima said.
She appealed to Duterte to listen to the Holy Spirit and have compassion for others.
“May the Holy Spirit and the Son and the Father also visit President Duterte and his family and bless them with the gift of life and the grace of kindness and compassion to their fellow human beings,” De Lima said.
READ: De Lima urges compassion for those seeking justice this Christmas
De Lima has launched a Senate inquiry that looked into the President’s involvement in the summary killings and the vigilante group Davao Death Squad (DDS). Duterte’s allies in Congress meanwhile launched a probe into De Lima’s alleged involvement in the drug trade at the national penitentiary when she was Justice Secretary.
De Lima first earned the ire of the President when she investigated him for links to the DDS as Commission on Human Rights chair. The DDS was tagged in killing criminals in Davao City when Duterte was mayor. RAM
