Detained Sen. Leila de Lima on Friday warned President Duterte and his “blind followers” would be held accountable for extrajudicial killings, and said they should stop trying to fool the world that their crackdown on illegal drugs was aboveboard.
In a handwritten statement posted on her official Facebook page, De Lima addressed those who speak for Mr. Duterte and the Philippine National Police, who consistently denied state sponsorship of extrajudicial killings in the President’s war on drugs.
“To the President’s and PNP spokespersons and other presidential defenders who deny that the daily drug killings are state-sponsored and instead demand for ‘solid proof,’ I say to you: STOP INSULTING OUR INTELLIGENCE, STOP FOOLING OUR PEOPLE AND THE REST OF THE WORLD,” De Lima said.
“As I keep on saying—truth has become the first major casualty in this so-called war on drugs,” she said.
She said Mr. Duterte and the enforcers of his war on drugs would eventually pay for the killings.
“In due time, your President and those who blindly enforce his illegal orders to kill, fabricate evidence and concoct lies will be held accountable,” De Lima said.
Mr. Duterte’s chief lawyer, Salvador Panelo, said De Lima was deluded and should realize an overwhelming number of Filipinos wanted her behind bars.
“She should accept reality and the truth that she created the rut she is now in,” Panelo said. —WITH REPORTS FROM LEILA B. SALAVERRIA AND THE WIRES