(Eagle News)–Senator Leila de Lima on Sunday, Sept. 2, called out President Rodrigo Duterte for what she said was his malevolent plan to unseat Vice President Leni Robredo and replace her with former Senator Bongbong Marcos.
De Lima noted that Duterte has expressed preference for Marcos, Chiz Escudero and a military junta as his replacement should he decide to step down.
“With the federal charter change campaign dead on the water, and a military junta having no avid takers from the (Armed Forces of the Philippines), this means that the only viable option remaining is to make sure that Marcos is in position to succeed as VP when Duterte decides to step down,” she said.
She noted that “a Marcos (Presidential Electoral Tribunal) victory is gradually nearing greater possibility, as old justices continue to retire and are replaced by Duterte appointees in the High Court.”
Marcos has filed an electoral protest against Robredo for alleged cheating that marred the 2016 vice presidential elections.
“As the math of coopted SC votes improves to favor a Marcos fake victory, so will the Marcos-Robredo PET case unravel to its malevolent conclusion,” she said, noting that the SC, which sits as the PET, can no longer be relied on as a “guardian of law” after the “anomalous” ouster of Maria Lourdes Sereno as Chief Justice.
She urged the public to be vigilant and resist a “Duterte-sponsored Marcos comeback.”
“Now, more than ever, citizens must rely on their own organic power to thwart any attempt to undermine constitutional democracy and to foist Duterte’s illegitimate choice of successor upon the Filipino people,” she added.