De Lima chides Duterte, wary of Poe election case

LIBERAL Party senatorial candidate Leila de Lima questioned whether Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was serious about his presidential bid after he insulted Pope Francis on national TV last Monday.

“Is he really serious about seeking the presidency? Is that the behavior of someone who is running or seriously running for president? I’m in a quandary. It’s a mystery. What is he trying to do,” she said in a press conference at the Parklane Hotel in Cebu City.

De Lima said Duterte’s comments against Pope Francis were “disturbing and scandalous.”

“Nakakahiya (Humiliating)  to say at the very least. It’s really an affront (to the pope and Catholics in the Philippines),” she said.

DE LIMA. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

Duterte was shown on national TV insulting Pope Francis for causing heavy traffic during his papal visit in Manila last January.

The Davao City mayor later apologized, saying he made the comments in jest.

“You know what, Mayor Duterte talks sense in some issues. He’s mad at criminals and those involved in illegal drug trade. I share his sentiments. But I won’t definitely agree with his decision to just kill criminals (without conducting proper trial). As long as he will continue to do that, I will continue to fight him,” said de Lima, former justice secretary and Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chief.

De Lima also said she hopes that the disqualification cases filed against Sen.  Grace Poe will be resolved with finality before the printing of ballots for next year’s elections.

“If the issues won’t be resolved and Grace Poe wins, it would create some instability. If she wins but gets disqualified, will the second placer take her place or will there be a special elections?” she said.

She said an old High Court ruling states that the person who got the second highest number of votes can never take the place of the proclaimed winner.

“But that jurisprudence has been changed with another one, that is the second placer can take the place of the winner who gets disqualified,” she said.

“The Senate Electoral Tribunal’s 5-4 decision was not a unanimous but a majority vote. The Comelec ruling, on the other hand, was a unanimous vote,” she added.