(Eagle News) — Senator Leila de Lima on Saturday, Aug. 18, rebuked President Rodrigo Duterte for belittling the leadership capabilities of Vice President Leni Robredo, saying his presidency was “not a tough act to follow.”
“Duterte has this hallucination that his presidency is a tough act to follow. Well, it is not. It is one of the worst, if not the worst presidency ever. After him, Marcos might even be surpassed as the most murderous and corrupt president the country ever had,” De Lima said in a statement, referring to former President Ferdinand Marcos.
She said Robredo could “certainly” end all the supposed killings in the country, and could stop what she said was the culture of impunity in the country.
She said the vice president could also restore the respect of the international community for the Philippines”by not being obnoxious or offensive to the world like Duterte was,” among others.
“After Duterte, it is not really all that hard to be a better President. The real challenge to the next President is fixing all that Duterte has broken, which is almost everything that was good about this country and its people,” De Lima said.
Duterte has said he would not resign as president as this would mean Robredo would take over the post.
“Hindi niya kaya,” Duterte said of the vice president, whom he called “incompetent” in a previous speech.
He vouched instead for former Senator Bongbong Marcos and Senator Chiz Escudero, saying he would resign if “the likes” of them would replace him.