De Lima refuses to rank Duterte's 4-year performance, calls him a traitor

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has penned a poem expressing her disgust to a traitor - evidently alluding to Mr. Duterte - who instigated human rights abuses and favored the whims of the Chinese government in his four years in office.

Entitled "Ang Traydor," the poem written by De Lima inside her detention quarters at Camp Crame, Quezon City was released ahead of Mr. Duterte's 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July. 27. It was read by actress Lotlot de Leon during the #SONAgKAISA rally in UP Diliman Campus, Quezon City

"Mahimbing na natutulog ang traydor sa loob ng kanyang kulambo/ Sa unang tingin maaaring isipin na ang traydor, gaya niyo at ako, ay isang simple at inosenteng tao lamang/ Ngunit huwag palilinlang, pagkat sanay ang traydor sa pagbabalatkayo/ Iba ang kanyang kamay sa ating mga kamay," read the first four lines of her piece. [Access full copy of the poem here: https://bit.ly/39FClhW]

In the poem, De Lima lamented how Mr. Duterte has continued to refuse to assert the country's rightful claim over the West Philippine Sea to apparently maintain his unusual friendly relationship with China.

"Iba ang kanyang kamay sa ating mga kamay/ Pagkat kung ang ating mga kamay ay kinakalyo sa pakikipagbuno sa bakal, sa palay, sa tisa, bolpen at lapis,/ang kamay ng traydor ay kinakalyo sa paglukot ng titulo ng nagpapatunay ang ating karagatan ay tunay ngang sa atin," part of her poem read.

De Lima, the first prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime, also highlighted in her poem Duterte's obvious effort to push for sinister measures to entrench himself in power.

"Iba ang kanyang puso sa ating mga puso/ Pagkat kung ang tibok ng ating puso ay nagsusumigaw ng Hustisya, Kalayaan, Kasarilan,/ ang tibok sa puso ng diktador ay iilan na lamang, kayat walang ibang inaasam kundi paanong kakapit sa kapangyarihan sa natitira nitong bilang, she wrote.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, De Lima admitted that it is almost impossible to give a mathematical grade or ranking of Duterte's four-year performance, saying that she finds "an offense to mathematics" to give him a grade for leadership.

"Mr. Duterte has plenty of bravado and machismo, but he lacks courage to stand up for Filipinos when it counts," she said.

De Lima said the consequences of Duterte's failure of leadership include "a ruined economy, a runaway and rampaging virus, a divided nation, a rudderless ship of state, and a hopelessly devastated people."

"But we have no choice but to deal with these consequences. It is the responsibility we assumed as citizens the very day 16 million Filipinos voted an incompetent, corrupt, and murderous sociopath to the presidency," she said.

Last year, it may be recalled that De Lima also expressed extreme disappointment over the first three years of the Duterte regime where she slammed the government's unjust policies and loyalty to China

"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," she was quoted to have said.

In July 2018, De Lima said that Mr. Duterte miserably failed to address the problems besetting the country, including poverty and unemployment, because he relies on taking shortcuts when facing issues in his first two years in office.

In her comment on Duterte's first year in office in July 2017, meanwhile, De said that Duterte has proven that he is a "murderer drunk with power, and 100 million helpless, pitiful subjects unable to escape from a nightmare."