De Lima arrest makes Aquino feel ‘disconnected’ from Palace

Former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said that he felt “disconnected” from the Duterte administration after the arrest of Sen. Leila de Lima.

Aquino attended the 31st anniversary of Edsa People Power Revolution at White Plains in Quezon City on Saturday.

He skipped the commemoration event organized by the Duterte administration that was held at Camp Aguinaldo on Friday despite being invited because “after what happened to Leila, I felt parang may disconnect,” Aquino said in an interview.

“Nung nasa DOJ (Department of Justice) pa lang, nung may hearing si Secretary De Lima, may question of jurisdiction,” he explained.

(“At the DOJ, when Secretary De Lima had a hearing, there was already a question of jurisdiction.”)

“Parang mahirap na walang makitang bias. Sa korte pagkaintindi ko, nagtanong din sila: Di ba dapat sa Ombudsman ‘to?” he added, echoing Sens. Frank Drilon, Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino – all members of the Liberal Party.

(“It’s hard to think that there’s no bias. It’s my understanding that in court they also asked: Shouldn’t this be under the Office of the Ombudsman?”)

The former president said Filipinos should be given equal rights – and they should fight for it.

“Siguro di naman kalabisan na magtanong ng konting bagay lang: May mga namatay, wala tayong death penalty, walang proseso na nagbibigay pahintulot sa pagpatay,” Aquino said.

(“I don’t think it’s to much to ask about a small thing: So many have died and yet we don’t have a death penalty, no process that allows killing.”)

“Obligasyon ng gobyerno na malaman lahat ng pagpatay na ito,” he added.

(“It’s the government’s obligation to know about these killings.”)

For him, the celebration of the 31st People Power anniversary gained more meaning.

“It reminds us that the fight is not yet over,” he said.

“For a long time, celebration ang ginagawa natin,” he said. “Ngayon medyo mas may dagdag na kailangang gawin maliban sa pag-gunita at pag-alala. Ttsaka siguro paalala sa atin na di tapos ang laban.”

(“For a long, we’ve been celebrating this. This time, there’s something more we have to do besides remember. And maybe it’s a reminder to us that the fight is not yet over.”)

Meanwhile, Sen. Bam Aquino, a cousin of the former president, echoed the sentiment of President Rodrigo Duterte that “Edsa belongs to everybody.”

“Hindi ito pagmamayari ng gobyerno. Hindi ito pagmamayari ng isang kulay o pamilya,” he said. “Palagay ko mahalaga na maalala natin yan ngayon.”

(“This doesn’t belong to the government, This doesn’t belong to any political color or family. I think it’s important that we remember that now.”)

The senator confirmed that there were indeed De Lima supporters present at the event.

He added that he had asked the Senate to allow De Lima to work even though she is at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center. /atm

Former Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III greets some crowd members who came for the EDSA 31st anniversary held beside the People Power Monument. (Photo by LYN RILLON/Philippine Daily Inquirer)