De Lima cries foul over 'character assassination'

MANILA, Philippines — A teary-eyed Sen. Leila De Lima called out President Rodrigo Duterte for lambasting an unnamed female senator for criticizing his anti-drug campaign.

Duterte claimed that a senator, whom he described as an "immoral woman," had an affair with her driver who allegedly collected money for her election campaign.

The president did not name the female senator but De Lima reacted to his accusations.

"To me that's very foul. Saan man nanggaling ang impormasyon na 'yan sana dino-double check. Sana inaalam ang source," De Lima told reporters, as recorded by dzMM.

The neophyte senator, who is former Justice secretary, called the president's revelation as "character assassination."

"I don't know kung anong agenda nila na they're resorting to character assassination. That is a very clear case of character assassination and I did not expect the president to do that sa totoo lang," the senator said.

De Lima added that both she and the president are professionals, as well as public servants and stressed that the chief executive should not have resorted to "foul means."

The senator, however, said that the Senate investigation on the spate of extrajudicial killings and summary executions of alleged drug dealers will still push through.

"Hindi po ako matitinag," De Lima said.

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