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De Lima raps Cayetano for 'infamous' House vote rejecting ABS-CBN's franchise renewal
De Lima raps Cayetano for 'infamous' House vote rejecting ABS-CBN's franchise renewal
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano should stop asking the public to move forward in the aftermath of the “infamous” House vote on the ABS-CBN franchise issue, opposition Senator Leila de Lima said.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
She said the incessant assaults on the dignity of the Filipino as a people and the core values of justice, human rights and democracy have now become intolerable.
“How can we respect a most odious and arbitrary exercise of a constitutional, institutional prerogative? No wisdom at all, only dishonor or disgrace, in the ‘Sellout-70s’ exercise of judgment,” de Lima said in a statement. ‘Sellout-70s’ is an apparent reference to the 70 members of the House of Representatives who voted to deny the renewal of the network’s franchise.
“Mr. Cayetano, we will not and cannot move on until and unless your boss Duterte and the rest of your ilk in the kakistocracy you foisted on this country are held to account for your humongous sins against the people, the latest being the forced shutdown of ABS-CBN,” de Lima further stated.
A “kakistocracy” is defined as “government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state.”
Cayetano earlier appealed to the public to read and respect the decision of the House committee on legislative franchises to reject ABS-CBN’s application.
He also denied that powerful religious and political blocs pressured the lawmakers in casting their votes against ABS-CBN, which de Lima said she considers a baloney.
De Lima said that while the House Speaker claims to have successfully brought down a family that has used public resources to serve its own private interests, it cannot be denied he too, is “tarnished with the soot of corruption.”
“Look who’s talking. It’s not even a case of the pot calling the kettle black, but a case of the giant kaldero (cauldron) calling out someone remotely tarnished with the soot of corruption,” she stressed.
As far as she is concerned, De Lima said Cayetano should be the one to “move on.”
“Enough of your sickening and deceptive ratiocinations! Why? Because soon you might find yourself in the same boat as all the victims of your double-faced dealings and malevolent schemes,” she said.
“You already have a large bullseye mark painted on your back, a convenient target for the back-stabbing people your sort of scum is always surrounded with,” the detained senator warned.