Luke Espiritu on Duterte-Ninoy comparison: The nerve

Labor leader Luke Espiritu expressed disapproval of Vice President Sara Duterte's comparison of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte and the late Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.

"The nerve," the senatorial candidate said reacting to Sara's remark that his father might suffer the same fate as the slain senator if he were to go back to the Philippines.

The former leader is facing trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands over alleged crimes against humanity during his administration's war on drugs.

“Yung tatay mo ang nagpalibing sa pumatay kay Ninoy sa Libingan ng Mga Bayani. Kayo ng tatay mo ang naging instrumental sa pagbalik ng mga Marcos sa kapangyarihan, si Ninoy ang naging instrumental para sila bumagsak,” Espiritu said in a Facebook post.

(Your father was responsible for the burial of Ninoy's killer at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.  Your father and you were responsible for the return of the Marcoses to power; Ninoy was instrumental in their downfall.)

Interviewed in The Hague, Sara said her father is "very confident about the legal arguments" his team will present before the ICC.

"He's very confident... that what they did was wrong and there is no case to begin with," she added.

She also told reporters her father was now in better health after appearing fatigued and dazed at his first hearing at the ICC.

Aquino was assassinated at the Manila International Airport, now named in his honor, on August 21, 1983. He was a staunch critic of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

“Pag pinatay tatay mo ang tawag diyan ay justice, noong pinatay si Ninoy ang tawag dun ay injustice (If your father is killed, then that's justice. When Ninoy was assassinated, that was injustice),” Espiritu said.

Earlier today, Malacañang said it would be far-fetched to compare Duterte to Aquino, noting that the latter has no record of crimes against humanity. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/LDF, GMA Integrated News

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