De Lima extremely disappointed over Mr. Duterte's first 3 years in office

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has expressed extreme disappointment over the first three years of the Duterte regime, saying it would be difficult to be satisfied with an administration led by a murderer and a traitor to his countrymen.

"No one can be satisfied with this government as long as there is no justice served for the thousands murdered in the drug war and as long as Duterte remains loyal to China and not the Philippines," said De Lima, the staunchest critic of the Duterte administration's war on drugs, rampant extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses.

Notwithstanding Mr. Duterte's popularity, the lady Senator from Bicol pointed out that it is extremely difficult to be contented with a leader who is a known murderer and a traitor to the people whom he has sworn to serve.

"A president who kills his own people and betrays his own country to a foreign power should be impeached, prosecuted, and sent to jail for his crimes against the people and the country. There can be no moral or legal question on that," said De Lima.

With the continued destruction of the social fabric and vital institutions of the country under the Duterte regime, De Lima expressed fear that the Filipino people "would no longer recognize what we have become as a people after his reign."

"In the end, we will all pay for the six years (and even more) that Duterte has spent destroying this nation," stressed De Lima, a known defender of human rights and social justice.

As a vocal critic of the Duterte's sham campaign against illegal drugs, the former justice secretary remains in unjust and illegal detention for obviously trumped-up charges fabricated by the administration using perjured and coerced witnesses.

Even in detention for more than two years now, De Lima has not wavered even in a bit in her fight against the rampant extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and human rights abuses under the current government.

This 18th Congress, she has reintroduced a measure seeking to define and provide for acts that constitute EJKs and ensure accountability over the killings recorded during the Duterte government.

If passed into law, De Lima's Senate Bill No. 371 will define EJK as an unlawful and deliberate killing of targeted individuals or groups by agents of the State and under its order or acquiescence in lieu of arrest, investigation and prosecution.

The measure also aims to beef up the intervention and investigative functions of concerned government agencies, such as the Commission on Human Rights, National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police, to probe EJKs.