Sen. Leila de Lima —JOSEPH VIDAL
Opposition Senator Leila de Lima on Tuesday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte as a “sex-obsessed sociopath,” following his “shoot in the vagina” remark against female members of the New People’s Army (NPA).
“Kung ang isda ay nahuhuli sa bibig (If you can catch a fish in the mouth), it should be too easy now to catch what this man is all about. He is a sex-obsessed sociopath who thinks women are only useful if they can give birth and raise children, and it is manly to promote sexual violence,” De Lima said in a statement.
Duterte’s remark during a dinner with 217 former communist rebels in Malacañang last Feb. 7, was later on downplayed by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
“Alam niyo po, matapos ang isang taon at kalahati, dapat kakilala na natin ang Presidente. Paulit-ulit kong sinasabi, do not take the President literally but take him seriously,” Roque said Tuesday.
(You know, after a year and a half, we should know the President already. I’ve said this over and over, do not take the President literally but take him seriously.)
READ: Roque on ‘shoot vagina’ remark: ‘Do not take the President literally, take him seriously’
But De Lima said the statement was not just a “threat” to female rebels, but also a threat against soldiers and the Filipino people.
“It is a threat against soldiers because they are being ‘led’ by a person who is unworthy of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them, much less as their commander-in-chief,” she said.
“This President is a threat against us, the Filipino people. He is no protector. He is no leader. He is no ‘strong’ man. He is a damaged man,” she added.
The detained senator also vowed to continue speaking up for women whose dignity and rights are being attacked.
“I will speak up for other women and say that we are more than the sum of our reproductive organs. We are human beings deserving of respect for our rights and dignity,” De Lima said.
“I will not meekly sit in my detention cell and allow a vengeful, abusive and ill-minded person to make his brand of violence, brutality and sickness to become the ‘new normal’ in Philippine society,” she added. /je