Former Senator Leila de Lima acknowledged having “mixed feelings” toward meeting former President Rodrigo Duterte, whom she held responsible for her nearly seven-year detention on fabricated charges, which derailed her human rights advocacy and career as legislator.
De Lima and Duterte were among the high-profile personalities invited to attend the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee public hearing on Monday with respect to the controversial war on drugs policy of the previous administration.
“How does it feel? Mixed feelings because he reminds me of everything that happened in the past, what they did to me,” De Lima told reporters in a chance interview before the legislative inquiry presided over by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III began.
“At the same time, there is this feeling of real hope that maybe (the quest for) justice would finally begin and accountability. But let’s see what will happen in the hearing,” she added.
De Lima noted she was approaching the initial Senate hearing with keen interest on the presence of the former president, who enforced the brutal anti-drugs policy that reportedly sanctioned summary executions among other human rights abuses.
“Let’s observe the demeanor of the former president now. I hope he would veer away from his ranting, the usual ranting, his toxic rhetoric and threatening attitude. I hope he avoids that and act professional,” she said, adding hopes that Duterte answer squarely the issues at hand.
De Lima was elected senator in 2016, but was arrested in 2017 on alleged drug charges. She was released on November 13, 2013 after posting P300,000 bail.
At the recent Quad Comm hearing, state witnesses presented against the former senator recanted their statements and admitted they were coerced by the allies of Duterte to implicate her on trumped up drug charges.
On June 24, 2024, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court granted De Lima’s petition for demurrer to evidence on her third and last case involving her alleged conspiracy in the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison. She was eventually acquitted on all criminal charges.
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