'TULOY ANG LABAN'

Staunch Duterte critic De Lima to seek reelection in Eleksyon 2022

Detained Senator Leila de Lima on Wednesday announced that she will run for another term in the Senate in next year's elections, as she vowed to restore justice in the next administration.

“Marami ang nagtatanong sa akin kung sa kabila ng pagyurak na ginawa mo sa akin ay may lakas pa ako ng loob na tumakbo muli bilang senador sa 2022. Tatakbo akong muli. Hindi ako susuko. Tuloy ang laban,” De Lima said in a letter sent to President Rodrigo Duterte.

(Many people are asking me if I still have the strength to run for senator in 2022 despite what you have done to me. I will run again. I will not back down. I will continue the fight.)

“Ang pagkulong mo sa akin ay lalong nagpalakas sa akin. Dumoble ang aking pagsisigasig na ibalik ang hustisyang niyurakan mo. Walang silbi ang lahat ng pakikipaglaban ko sa talamak mong pamamalakad kung uurong lang ako sa hamon ng pagtakbo muli,” she added.

(My detention has made me stronger. It has pushed me to restore justice that you have trampled. My fight will be in vain if I will not accept the challenge to run again.)

The opposition lawmaker told Duterte that she will not give up her fight and that she will continue to prove that the allegations against her were trumped-up.

De Lima, a former Justice secretary, expressed confidence that the remaining drug-related charges filed against her will be junked by the court.

The lawmaker wrote Duterte ahead of his sixth and final State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 26.

De Lima slammed Duterte for supposedly failing to fulfill his campaign promises including the issues on illegal drugs, corruption, the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and economy.

“Pinagpiyestahan ninyo ang kaban ng bayan. Walang hiya-hiya, walang pakundangan. Bumukol kung bumukol. Wala kayong pakialam,” she said, mentioning former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV's accusation against Duterte's close ally Senator Bong Go.

(You have feasted on public funds without shame and respect to the Filipino people.)

Go has denied Trillanes' accusation.

De Lima also reiterated that her detention is part of political persecution for being a vocal critic of the administration.

“Ako na ang tanging kasalanan ay magsalita laban sa [extra-judicial killings] ay nakakulong, samantalang ang mga tulad ni Peter Lim na may Warrant of Arrest sa pagiging big-time drug lord ay hindi mo man lang kayang ipaharap sa korte at hustisya,” she added.

(I, whose only sin was speaking up against EJKs, was incarcerated while people like Peter Lim, who has a pending warrant of arrest for being a big-time drug lord, was not even brought to a court.) —KBK, GMA News