Duterte, De Lima sit together at EJK hearing

Former President Rodrigo Duterte and former Senator Leila de Lima, vocal critics, were seated beside each other at a House quad committee hearing on extrajudicial killings and the war on drugs.

De Lima stated during the hearing that the drug charges against her were fabricated and bogus, and that she was cleared of all charges after nearly seven years of detention.

Duterte antagonized De Lima, commenting on a 2016 news article that branded her as the "mother of all drug lords".

De Lima called Duterte a liar during the hearing, asserting he knew her well.

She questioned how Duterte could claim ignorance of her identity, reminding him that he was a resource person during a CHR inquiry on Davao Death Squad killings when she was still a senator.

De Lima was jailed for alleged links to the illegal drug trade in February 2017 and remained incarcerated until November 2023.