De Lima having “prison hallucination” for accusing Duterte of plan to unseat Robredo – Roque

September 2, 2018

Malacanang on Sunday said detained Senator Leila de Lima is having a “prison hallucination” after claiming that President Rodrigo Duterte has a malevolent plan to unseat Vice President Leni Robredo.

"Prison hallucination. Fate of VP (vice president) is with SC (Supreme Court) not the President," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

De Lima has accused Duterte of having a plan to remove Robredo to allow former Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to succeed him should he step down before his term ends in 2022.

“Duterte has several ideas how he will be replaced in case he decides to step down before his term ends. He has expressed his preference for Bongbong Marcos, (Senator Francis) Chiz Escudero, a military junta [but] none of them include the constitutional mode of succession, which is the only legal way of replacing him,” she said.

The opposition senator also expressed doubt on the impartiality of the Supreme Court after the appointment of Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro as the new chief justice, replacing Maria Lourdes Sereno, who was removed from office through a quo warranto petition.

“After the Supreme Court has demonstrated its capability to perform the unconstitutional ouster of its own Chief Justice, it can no longer be relied upon to stand as the guardian of the Constitution and the rule of law,” she said.

“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. Ella Dionisio/DMS