De Lima: Tirades against media shows Duterte’s vindictiveness

Sen. Leila de Lima (Photo from her Facebook page)

Sen. Leila De Lima claimed on Friday that President Rodrigo Duterte’s continuing tirade against the Philippine Daily Inquirer and ABS-CBN was proof of his vindictiveness.

In a dispatch from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center, De Lima described Duterte’s attacks against the media as “unprecedented” and “condemnable.”

“It is turning out that his beef with two major media outfits springs from previous experiences with them and/or unflattering reportage from them,” the senator pointed out.

She was referring to Duterte’s pronouncements in an interview on the sidelines of his visit to the Armed Forces Western Command in Camp Gen. Artemio Ricarte in Puerto Princesa City.

During an interview with reporters, he claimed that the owners of the Inquirer allegedly owed the government taxes through a chain of donut shops they own, while ABS-CBN allegedly failed to deliver on airtime he bought for his campaign last year and showed instead anti-Duterte propaganda from Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

To end her short note, De Lima said: “This (latest tirade) is but another manifestation of the vindictiveness of this President. Everything to him is personal. And we just have to live with it?” /atm

Sen. Leila de Lima’s Dispatch No. 60 (Photo from her Facebook page)