It might be a hyperbole or an exaggerated statement but Duterte’s admission of killing suspects is a ground for impeachment – according to his number one critic
The admission of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that he used to kill drug suspects can be a ground for his impeachment, according to Senator Leila de Lima.
In an live interview with CNN in Washington, United States of America (USA), Senator De Lima said that the recent admission of President Duterte that he “personally” killed the suspected criminals while he was city mayor of Davao in southern Philippines was a violation of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
The lady Solon said the act of killing is an impeachable offense because that is a culpable violation of the Constitution, which serves as the country’s highest fundamental law.
She added that Duterte’s commission of a crime is a betrayal of public trust and it constitutes high crimes because what is happening now are “mass murders”.
De Lima’s logic goes: mass killings are heinous crimes and heinous crimes can be a ground for impeachment of a president under the current Constitution.
As Duterte’s devoted critic, Senator De Lima emphasized that she is not threatened by dangers posed against her and rather said, she is ready to continue fighting the Chief Executive.
Since President Duterte assumed office as the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines, more than 6,000 suspected drug personalities and criminals have been killed and he claimed that 2,000 of them were slain in police operations.
Meanwhile, Senator De Lima expressed her hopes that in the fullness of time, Duterte would be struck by his conscience and direct the Philippine National Police (PNP) to put a stop in the killings.
“The moment it is done, I am sure that killings would stop”, Senator De Lima said in the interview.
On December 12, Monday, the President made the admission that he personally pulled the trigger pointed at criminals when he was still Davao City mayor.
His admission came just hours after he emphasized that he is not a killer.
He told a group of business leaders in the country that when he was still a local government official, he would ride his big bike and patrol the streets to look for trouble against the offenders.
But he later explained that he only did that to show the policemen that if he can do it, they have no reasons they cannot and challenged those who are against him to oust him for that ground.