MANILA, Philippines - Humming the 1970s hit song, “Killing Me Softly,” President Duterte maintained he did not abuse his executive powers in exposing the alleged drug links of Sen. Leila de Lima’s supposed driver-lover early this week.
Duterte said he has more goods to prove his claims against De Lima, whom he again described as an “immoral person.”
“Yes, I have, I have already,” he said, before singing a verse from the Roberta Flack hit, “killing me softly… with his song, killing me softly” in an interview in Cotabato City on Thursday.
Duterte said he has no intention to apologize to De Lima, saying she actually caused her own scandal.
“She created a scandal. She knows she is (in) a public scandal… what ‘spare the family?’ If you are in public office, your life is an open book,” Duterte said.
“She can have all the time in the world. But if you want to know more, just go to the justice department or the (Commission on) Human Rights and validate what I am saying. If you find out that I am lying, then get back at me,” he added.
Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar said the President in due time would provide more evidence to prove his allegations against De Lima.
Andanar said the President has vast sources of information that he can use to back up his claim.
“The President has assets and resources of information more than anyone of us ordinary Filipinos have. His policy statements, rest assured, have been vetted especially intelligence reports like those against Senator De Lima,” Andanar said over dzBB radio.
“Rest assured he has the evidence which the President only knows where it came from,” he added.
On Thursday, Duterte said he has witnesses to prove that De Lima had an affair with her driver. He claimed the driver was collecting the illegal drug payola on behalf of De Lima who was then justice secretary.
According to Duterte, he may even tap the driver as witness against the senator.
No chilling effect
Andanar was also quick to douse speculations that Duterte’s expose was a preemptive attack against the upcoming Senate inquiry on Monday.
De Lima will preside the Senate committee on justice and human rights in its investigation into the summary killings of suspected drug offenders. De Lima initiated the inquiry as committee chairperson.
Andanar said Malacañang continues to respect the independence of Congress and there is no intent on the President’s part to bully any lawmaker following his expose.
“Of course not. There will be Senate investigations that Senator De Lima will conduct next week. I think, Senator De Lima should come out with evidence with her alleged extrajudicial killings and let us leave it to the President because he knows what he will do,” he said.
Andanar also went to Duterte’s defense on De Lima’s claim that the chief executive abused his powers.
“Everything is subjective. The President’s tirades against Senator De Lima when he first mentioned connection with drugs and her love life were just an add-on issue. We could either focus on the driver-lover or drugs issue,” he said.
“If there is a chilling effect, let me say there is a process being followed here. I leave it up to the President. You see we are in a very unique position because the President is a former prosecutor. I don’t think it has a chilling effect unless one is guilty,” Andanar added.
According to Andanar, the fight between the President and De Lima dates back to when the chief executive was still Davao City mayor while De Lima was chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights.
It was then when De Lima went all the way to Davao City to probe Duterte’s supposed links to the Davao Death Squad.
“The government will continue with its work. We respect the independence of Congress. We respect the independence of the judiciary. Again, the conflict is between the President and Senator De Lima. We leave it to the President what’s his next moves,” Andanar said.