Solon warns of ‘chilling effect’ of Duterte attack on De Lima

Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat Jr. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

Liberal Party lawmaker Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat said it was unbecoming of President Rodrigo Duterte to launch a personal tirade against Sen. Leila de Lima.

“Duterte’s attacks on Sen. Leila, I thought, were unbecoming of a President,” Baguilat said in a statement via text.

Baguilat said a President should not resort to character assassination.

“Insulting someone’s character publicly shouldn’t be the norm of behavior for public officials, especially the President,” Baguilat said.

He warned that Duterte’s attacks on his critics may have a “chilling effect” on those who would want to give constructive criticisms on the administration.

“It could be a chilling effect. That all those who oppose the President will be shamed or threatened publicly, even if the opinion expressly comes from an equal branch of government,” Baguilat said.

Baguilat earlier filed a resolution seeking a congressional investigation on the spate of extrajudicial killings.

READ: Look into extrajudicial killings under Duterte, Congress pressed

A former justice secretary, De Lima ran and won as senator under the Liberal Party in the previous election. She investigated Duterte’s links to the vigilante group Davao Death Squad which had over 1,000 summary killings in Davao City during Duterte’s term as mayor.

In his speech during the 115th police service anniversary at Camp Crame on Wednesday, Duterte criticized a lady senator for being an “adulterer” and “immoral” because of her affair with her driver, who allegedly earned money from drugs.

READ: De Lima: Witness links Duterte to Davao Death Squad

He later named the senator as De Lima.

“Here’s a senator complaining. One day I will tell you that her driver himself, who was a lover, was the one collecting money for her during the campaign. An immoral woman, insofar as the driver’s wife is concerned, it’s adultery. Here’s a woman who funded a house of a lover and yet we don’t see any complaint about it. Those money came readily from drugs,” the President said.

READ: Duterte slams De Lima

An emotional De Lima in a press briefing on Thursday said she would not back out from pushing through with her investigation on extrajudicial killings next Monday despite the attacks from the President.

“Mas nanaisin ko na kayo o ang inyong gobyerno magbaon sa akin, kesa ako magbaon sa aking sarili,” De Lima said, lamenting Duterte’s supposed abuse of power in disrespecting a coequal branch of government.

READ: De Lima bewails Duterte ‘abuse, misuse of power’ 

The Liberal Party congressmen in the House of Representatives expressed their support for De Lima as their counterparts in the Senate also backed the beleaguered senator.

The party of former President Benigno Aquino III also issued an official statement hitting Duterte’s “gutter language.”

“The Liberal Party stands for free and open debate, for due process of law, and respect and civility in public discourse… Senator Leila de Lima is doing her job as a senator of the Republic. She deserves support, not condemnation; respect, and not gutter language; she and our people deserve the facts, not innuendo,” the party said in a statement.

READ: LP senators rally behind De Lima amid Duterte’s tirades | LP-allied solon scores Duterte for attack on De Lima 

Baguilat had been claiming the minority leader post since he clinched the second place in the speakership race, but the post did not go to him but to Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, who was elected by members of the minority.

His bloc of eight lawmakers plan to bring the case to the Supreme Court to determine whether or not the tradition of installing the second placer in the speaker race as minority leader should prevail over the House rules, which state that the minority leader is elected by members of the minority.

READ: House divided: Two solons battle to become leader of losers

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