Former president Rodrigo Duterte (left), former senator Leila de Lima (Screenshot from Facebooklivestream)

Former senator Leila de Lima seemingly got under the skin of fellow House quad-committee (quad-comm) resource person, ex-president Rodrigo Duterte after she insisted that he knew fully well who she was.

This, after Duterte--in an obvious swipe at De Lima--claimed during the quad-comm hearing Wednesday, Nov. 13 that he didn't know her.

De Lima and Duterte sat next to each other during the marathon hearing.

Given the opportunity to give a manifestation before the mega-panel, De Lima outright called her seatmate a liar.

"Kanina po napansin niyo, hindi nga niya po masabi yung pangalan ko (A while ago if you noticed, he couldn't even say my name)," she said.

"Nagtataka po ako dun (That makes me wonder). He's lying when he said that he does not know Leila de Lima. How can he say that he does not know Leila de Lima?"

"Unang-una, noong hearing po namin, yung CHR (Commission on Human Rights) inquiry sa Davao on the DDS (Davao Death Squad) killings, siya po as then mayor yung pinaka-una na tinawag namin as resource person," she said.

(First of all, during the CHR inquiry in Davao on the DDS killings, he, as then-mayor, was our first resource person.)

"Pangalawa, narinig niyo ho yun, napakaraming mga okasyon, mga public pronouncements niya, na ako ay tinitira niya, na ako ay binabastos niya, kung anu-ano yung sinasabi niya sa akin. Binabantaan din ako, 'You will rot in jail, Leila de Lima!'" she told the quad-comm. 

"Second, you heard it, in many occasions, in his public pronouncements, he assailed me, he disrespected me, he said many things about me. He also threatened me, 'You will rot in jail, Leila de Lima!')

The former senator also recalled the publicized handshake that she had with Duterte during the latter’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in 2016.

"Kinamayan pa niya ako? So hindi niya ako kilala? (He shook my hand? So he doesn't know me?)"

"Alam yan for example ni executive secretary Salvador Medialdea na kilala ako, kilalang kilala ako ng dating mayor, at ng dating pangulo. So he is lying," De Lima said of Duterte.

(For example, executive secretary Salvador Medialdea is aware that he knows me, that the former mayor and former president knows me very well. So he is lying.)

After the manifestation, Duterte was caught on camera turning to De Lima and gesturing as if he was going to hit her. The ex-president's arm was restrained by his counsel, lawyer Martin Delgra III. 

De Lima was unaware of Duterte’s actions.

Duterte gave a tongue-in-cheek explanation as to why he didn't "recognize" De Lima during the proceedings.

"Iba na kasi ang hairdo niya kaya hindi ko nakilala...pati yung kulay ng buhok (She now has a different hairdo, that's why I failed to recognize her...even the hair color is different)," he said.

De Lima was jailed for alleged links to the illegal drug trade on Feb. 24, 2017, or just eight months into Duterte’s Palace tenure. She was released on Nov.13, 2023.