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De Lima: Duterte wants to hasten removal of Sereno, Morales from office


Detained Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday said President Rodrigo Duterte's tirades against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales were an indication of his desire to remove them from office.

Duterte has accused Sereno, who is now facing two impeachment complaints before the House of Representatives, of sitting on the stay order on contraceptive implants and Morales of allegedly practicing selective justice in the fight against graft and corruption.

The President cited the cases of detained former Senators Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada, who are facing plunder charges over the alleged Priority Development Assistance Fund Scam (PDAF) scam that was exposed during the term of former President Benigno Aquino III, who appointed Morales to the post in 2011.

"Only in the President’s skewed definition of 'justice' are these rich, influential and powerful men the poster boys for injustice," De Lima said in a statement, referring to Revilla and Estrada.

"Clearly, Duterte would prefer that suspects be given swift justice – but something tells me that, in the case of these two senators with whom he is obviously sympathetic, he would likely prefer that they be given their freedom despite the ongoing trial," she added.

De Lima said Duterte was twisting the "facts" to suit his narrative.

"First, the eradication of the concept of 'independence' in our independent institutions and offices, like the Office of the Ombudsman and the Supreme Court, which is why he wants to hasten the removal from office of two women who dare to hold on to their independence, integrity and impartiality in the face of a President who expects and demands blind loyalty and kowtowing from everyone," she said.

"Second, he needs to divert attention from the major issues that he should be addressing," added De Lima.

The senator said the issues include Duterte's admission of his inability to solve the drug problem and corruption in the police force and in the Bureau of Customs, where the name of his son, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, has been linked to smuggling activities and "continuing creeping encroachment and invasion" by China into disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea.

"There is, therefore, more than irony in the President’s complaint. There is an evil genius behind it. Clearly, he sees the writing on the wall: the day will come when he and his men will have to answer for their sins," De Lima said. 

"When that day comes, he is making sure that the Ombudsman and the Judiciary are in his pocket. Until then, Duterte will use everything in his power to misdirect the people’s attention. But I refuse to be fooled. Mr. President, who are you to cry foul about selective justice?"

De Lima is accused of complicity in the trading of illegal drugs in the New Bilibid Prison in exchange for campaign funds during her term as Justice secretary.

She has repeatedly denied the charges which she attributed to her continued attacks on the Duterte's administration heavy handed approach to curbing illegal drugs that has claimed thousands of lives through police operations and vigilante killings. —KBK, GMA News

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