Press Release
April 16, 2018

De Lima: Be a 'voice of the poor' vs. gov't abuses

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima today called on the members of the Akbayan Citizens' Action Party (Akbayan) to continue being the voice of the poor against any excessive measures to curtail their civil liberties and human rights.

In her message at Akbayan's 7th Regular Congress in Cebu City, De Lima asked the leaders and members of the progressive group to keep on raising the level of public discourse to allow the people see through the fake promises of the traditional politicians.

She also underscored the importance of exacting accountability for the excesses of the Duterte administration, especially among the poor whose plight, she said, has long been neglected by authorities.

"Ang hamon at panawagan sa ating lahat: Patuloy lang tayo sa pagbibigay boses sa mga nasa laylayan. Patuloy lang tayo sa pagtataas sa antas ng pampublikong diskurso. Patuloy lang tayo sa pagsingil sa gobyerno ng mga ipinangako nitong pagbabago..." she said.

"[Ang mga mahihirap] po ang dahilan kung bakit tayo nasa posisyon. Pero naaalala lamang sila kapag eleksyon. Pinaasa ng pagbabago, pero puro panloloko ang ginagawa ng kasalukuyang gobyerno," she added.

De Lima's message was read by former Rep. Erin Tanada during the group's assembly held at the Social Hall, Cebu Provincial Capitol Road, Cebu City today, April 16.

Now that the May 14 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections are less than a month away, De Lima warned, "siguradong marami na namang politiko ang pumuporma para mangako ng pagbabago."

The Senator from Bicol said the public should look no further than President Duterte himself-- "a dictator, concerned only about his own interest and political survival"--to identify a "trapo."

"Napakarami nga pong suliranin ang dapat tugunan sa ating bayan. Pero ang napakalaking problema po ay ang magkaroon ng isang Pangulo na nagbubulag-bulagan sa mga tunay na isyu, at walang gustong pakinggan kundi ang sarili lamang," she said,

"[Duterte] wants us to believe that he hates corruption, but just look who his allies are and you will see that his words are filled with lies, hypocrisy, and duplicity," she added.

Note that during the campaign period, Duterte promised to end illegal drug trade in three to six months, but he later on admitted that the drug menace could not be solved easily and that the campaign would have to continue until the end of his term in 2022.

While Duterte professes to be pro-poor, the former justice secretary said the truth is that he only used the poor to propel himself to power.

"Pro-poor ba kamo? Pero pinapatay ang mahigit 20,000 na mahihirap? Pinagmumura ang mga kapus-palad at sinabing hayaan silang mamatay sa gutom. Ipinatupad ang bagong batas na dagdag pasanin lalo na sa mga isang kahig, isang tuka nating kababayan. Ngayon naman, ang pagpapasara sa Boracay kung saan marami ang mawawalan ng kabuhayan," she said.

"Tama na ang mga pangakong 3 to 6 months na wala namang katotohanan at pinatutunguhan. Tama na ang pagtatapang-tapangan na wala namang katuturan. Magtrabaho na lang sana ang gobyernong ito," she added.

In these challenging times, De Lima said she remains thankful that there are still citizens -- like the leaders and members of the Akbayan Citizens' Action Party-- who never waver in their fight for justice, truth and democracy.

"Kaya naman tiwala ako na sa pagtitipong ito, higit pang mapapalakas ang ating tinig at pagkakaisa para labanan ang mali, panagutin ang tiwali, at makapaglatag ng makabuluhang solusyon sa mga problema sa ating bansa," she added.

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