Palace vows to ignore De Lima

February 6, 2019

Malacanang vowed on Wednesday to ignore any statement of detained opposition Senator Leila de Lima, whom it called as "disgruntled and failed politician."

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued the statement after De Lima, from her detention in Camp Crame, wondered why he still keeps hitting her if the Palace considered her irrelevant.

"Mr. Panelo, if indeed I'm now irrelevant, trying to 'reenter the public's consciousness' as you assert, why do you still keep on hitting me with such venomous intensity? You can just ignore me, right?" the senator said.

"And by the way, ranting is not your master's exclusive domain. So please, cool off...," De Lima added.

The senator was reacting on Panelo's earlier statement, accusing her of being "callous" after she questioned how the government intelligence fund was being spent following the deadly bombings in a cathedral in Jolo, Sulu on January 27, killing 22 people and injuring over a hundred others.

With De Lima's statement that she should be ignored, Panelo said she apparently admitted that she has indeed become an irrelevant political entity.

"We agree and would be happy to oblige her. The Palace henceforth, apart from saying that her subsequent rants as well as other future vindictive and negative blabbering against PRRD (President Rodrigo R. Duterte) and the Administration are coming from a disgruntled and failed politician, will ignore her," he said. 

De Lima is Duterte's staunch critic. Celerina Monte/DMS