Press Release
March 28, 2019

Duterte 'Biggest Crisis' for PH - De Lima

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has called Mr. Duterte as the "biggest crisis" that has befallen the country as she renewed her call for him to step down due to his oft-repeated empty claims of being exhausted for fighting criminality in the country.

De Lima, the staunchest critic of the administration's all-out war on drugs, said that the Filipino people have had enough of Duterte's dramatics and empty rhetorics that only seek to cover up for his obvious incompetence and lack of governance.

"Kung pagod ka na Ginoong Duterte, mag-resign ka na lang. Pagod na pagod na rin ang bansa sa mga drama at kabuktutan mo. "Si Duterte ang pinakamalaking krisis na nangyari at nangyayari sa bansa," she said in her recent written statement.

A few days short of his 74th birthday on March 28, Duterte said he is willing to cut short his one-time, six-year term of office because he was already feeling tired from solving the issues in relation to his war on drugs.

"Pagod na ako sa inyo (drug lords and other criminals). Naghahanap lang ako ng lusot. Ke magbarilan tayo...," Duterte said during a campaign sortie recently. "Naghahanap lang ako talaga ng lusot na para makapagpahinga na. Pagod na rin ako."

It was not the first time that Duterte broached in the idea of relinquishing his post. In August 2018, he expressed interest to step down from presidency before his term ends in 2022 because he was tired of fighting illegal drugs and corruption in government.

Duterte also threatened to resign if women would protest his controversial kiss involving a Filipino worker in South Korea, and if anyone who has gone to see God and have a "selfie" with Him would come back and prove God's existence.

As early as the beginning of his term in 2016, De Lima recalled that Mr. Duterte also promised to resign if he could not rid the country of drugs and criminality after three to six months, but he still sits at the President's throne in Malacanang to date. In one of her recent ambush interviews, the former justice secretary also called out on Duterte for causing so much damages to the country by plunging it into crisis after crisis, the gravest of which is the human rights crisis that killed thousands of individuals.

"Crisis after crisis. Puro na lang perwisyo!," she quipped.

In September 2017, De Lima challenged Duterte to resign if he cannot stop the killings in the country even as she urged him to give a direct, categorical and public order to the entire police force to stop the killings.

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