De Lima says President misrepresented PH, French laws

Senator Leila de Lima INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

In hurling invectives against United Nations Special Rapporteur on summary killings, President Rodrigo Duterte did not only misrepresent the French law but also the Philippine law, Sen. Leila de Lima said on Saturday.

“He misrepresented that our penal laws follow a purely retributive philosophy, and made grossly ignorant and reprehensible attacks on the humanity of people who find themselves in conflict of the law and under the jurisdiction of our correctional system,” De Lima said in a statement.

Duterte hurled an expletive-laced statement against UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard after urging the President to make the death of Kian Loyd delos Santos the last in his administration’s war on drugs.

“T*** i** niya, sabihin mo. Huwag niya akong takutin. P***** i** niya. G*** pala siya eh. Taga-saan ba ‘yang buang na ‘yan (Son of a b****, tell her. Don’t try to scare me. Son of a b****. She’s a fool. Where is that fool from)? What is her nationality?” Duterte said.

He also claimed that under the French law, a person can be detained almost indefinitely and is presumed guilty until proven innocent—a statement that was immediately disputed by France.

READ: France tells Duterte: human rights important

De Lima, who is detained at Camp Crame over drug charges, said the President and others who work in the implementation of the country’s correctional system need to “educate and train themselves to think like wardens or caretakers, like shepherds that do not abandon those who have lost their way.”

The senator said the Philippine penal system attempts to balance out both the penal and restorative aspects of an ideal correctional system.

“As it should—because the penalty has to be commensurate to the crime, and once served, it must leave the person capable of being reintegrated into society. That’s why it’s called both a penal and correctional system, not a slaughterhouse,” she said.

She also lectured Duterte on the meaning of his fraternity’s mantra, “Lex Talionis,” which literally translates to “an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” De Lima said it means “law that exacts the same amount” or punishment should not exceed injury.

“It actually calls for “moderation” in our system of crime and punishment. A term that is perhaps something the President does not understand, just as he doesn’t understand that he, as the President, is our leader—not our executioner and butcher,” she explained. JPV