(Eagle News)–Opposition senator Leila de Lima has expressed disappointment over the loss of Otso Diretso Senate bets in the recently concluded polls.
“I could not understand how the objectively undeserving – those who are known to have committed crimes against the nation, who presented no concrete plans of action, who could show no accomplishment except their ‘loyalty’ to one man, and those who are fencesitters- could win the votes of the Filipino people,” De Lima, who is detained over drug-related cases, said.
By “one man” De Lima was apparently referring to President Rodrigo Duterte, who endorsed many of the Senate candidates who won in the elections.
De Lima has repeatedly blamed President Duterte for her plight, but Duterte has denied this, saying it was her own doing.
According to De Lima, it was “hard to fathom who I am disappointed with.”
She said Otso Diretso, after all, “offered themselves up to serve the interests of the Filipino people – above all and with no reservations.”
“They may have won no seats, but that is not their loss. It is our loss. We had a chance to elect brave, competent, independent-minded and compassionate people, who understood and were committed to the true meaning of “public service”, but we, as a nation, turned their offer down,” she said.
“We had a chance to elect brave, competent, independent-minded and compassionate people, who understood and were committed to the true meaning of ‘public service’, but we, as a nation, turned their offer down. To me and the millions who voted for Otso Diretso, it seemed like an obvious choice, but apparently not,” she added.
She said, however, that while the loss was “hard” and “painful,” with it “comes the opportunity to learn.”
She said “we won’t learn anything if we let ourselves wallow in disappointment or give in to hopelessness.”
“But we should not give up. Because this fight is perhaps the most important fight of our entire history as a nation. We are fighting for our future, our children’s future. We are fighting for our soul as a nation,” she said.
As of past 11 a.m. on Monday, May 20, Cynthia Villar led the Senate race, based on partial and unofficial results from the Commission on Elections transparency server.
The highest-ranking Otso Diretso Senate bet was Bam Aquino, who is so far in fourteenth place, outside the Top 12 winning circle.
