Former Sen. Leila de Lima Reacts To “Punch” Gesture of Ex-Pres. Duterte
LEILA DE LIMA – The former Senator admitted that she was offended upon seeing that former President Rodrigo Duterte allegedly made a gesture against her.
Heated remarks were countless at the recent hearing conducted by the House Quad Committee. It was the first time that former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte appeared at the House hearing over his administration’s war on drugs.
Duterte’s repeated absences triggered a question from a House Quad Comm member asking if Duterte is afraid that is why he does not appear at the hearing. The former President was quick to respond that the House members allegedly don’t scare him a bit.
On Wednesday, former Pres. Duterte appeared at the House Quad Comm hearing held at Batasang Pambansa. The staunch critic of his administration’s war on drugs, former Sen. Leila de Lima, was also invited to the inquiry.
De Lima arrived at the hearing. Meanwhile, it is not the first time that the two (2) politicians crossed paths as they were both present at the first Senate hearing over the war on drugs. However, it is the first time that Duterte and De Lima were seated beside each other.
At the House hearing, former Sen. Leila De Lima stressed that former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is allegedly lying when he claimed that he does not know her. She recalled the time when Duterte shook hands with her during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in 2016.
Duterte claimed that De Lima has a new hairdo and hair color so he did not recognize her. At the hearing, former Pres. Duterte was caught on camera gesturing as if he will hit former Sen. De Lima and throw the microphone at former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, former Sen. Leila de Lima did not know about the gesture of former Sen. Rodrigo Duterte if not because of her friends who sent her a message. According to her, she also has a friend who sent her a video.
Former Sen. Leila de Lima admitted that she got offended by the gesture of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. According to her, it was so “unbecoming” and it was “indecency’.
“Wala na siyang any sense of decency, ang tawag diyan, indecency na wala naman ako ginagawa sa kanya tapos ganun ang reaction niya,” de Lima said.
Based on the report, the former Senator also tagged the gesture of the former President allegedly an act of cowardice — “Isa pang tawag diyan, kaduwagan, isa siyang duwag”.
At the hearing, Duterte appeared brave when he told the ICC to come to the Philippines for the investigation the soonest. In 2019, he stopped the inclusion of the country to the International Criminal Court after the ICC expressed an intent to launch a probe on the then-administration’s war on drugs.