During the 11th hearing on the controversial drug war conducted by the House of Representatives quad committee, former President Rodrigo Duterte was observed making a fist-raising gesture towards former Senator Leila de Lima. Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers described the action as likely “playful” in nature.
The incident took place on Wednesday when de Lima, seated beside Duterte, stated that the former president was not truthful about his past knowledge of her. In response, Duterte raised his fist towards her, a moment that caught attention online.
“I think, and I could be wrong, it was done in a playful manner. You know the former president, he can be quite comedic, with gestures and statements that are humorous and witty,” Barbers said in an online interview on Thursday. He added, “We don’t know if it was a serious attempt to hit his seatmate, but everything was under control and within the rules.”
Following the viral footage, de Lima posted on social media, expressing she was “unfazed” by the gesture and referenced Duterte’s earlier remarks about the International Criminal Court (ICC). She noted, “He dug his own grave today with his invitation to the ICC.”
De Lima also welcomed the statement from Malacañang that the Philippine government would cooperate with the ICC and Interpol in case arrest warrants are issued against Duterte and his associates.
In addition to the incident with de Lima, Duterte also issued a threat to slap and later hit former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV with a microphone. This came after Trillanes challenged Duterte to sign a bank secrecy waiver, presenting bank records allegedly showing deposits from a drug lord to Duterte’s family.
Trillanes described the drug war as a “fake” cover for Duterte’s supposed “drug syndicate” and stated that the bank documents he presented were verified by the Office of the Ombudsman, matching information from the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
