Some of President Rodrigo Duterte’s greatest critics are his fellow politicians. Several of them were in attendance at his State of the Nation Adress (SONA) yesterday afternoon at the Batasang Pambansa.
In an interesting twist, however, looks the chief executive won over one of his “bashers” with the signature Duterte charm.
The President surprised newbie senator Leila de Lima as he made his way to the podium of the House plenary to deliver his speech, Inquirer reports.
“I was surprised. Hindi ko akalain na (I did not believe) he would do that. It’s flattering,” she told reporters after Duterte’s Sona.
“Nagulat na lang ako …bigla na lang parang nag-detour s’ya. He smiled and offered his hand! So I shook his hand,” she added.
(“I was surprised that he made a detour. He smiled and offered his hand. So I shook his hand”)
De Lima and Duterte are not in good terms… at least they weren’t.
It may be recalled that prior to winning the presidency, Duterte accused the Aquino administration of not stopping syndicates from manufacturing and peddling illegal drugs at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City. De Lima was then Department of Justice secretary.
De Lima also accused Duterte of being linked to to the Davao Death Squad during the campaign season. She is now calling for a Senate probe on the alleged extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration
“He didn’t say anything. He just smiled at me. Ako ang nasabi ko lang, ‘hi, sir’,” said De Lima.
(““He didn’t say anything. He just smiled at me. I was the one who said, ‘hi, sir’”)
De Lima emphasized that there is no personal rift between her and the president.
“Never akong namemersonal sa lahat ng ginagawa ko so that means when he made that gesture, I think that’s also a manifestation na wala talagang pesonalan…” she said
(“I have never done things out of personal ill-will, so that means when he made that gesture, I think that’s also a manifestation that we do not have a personal rift.”)
The incident drew a cheer from the crowd.
Next time you meet your bashers, you know what to do!
