It was a scene that was unimaginable during the previous administration: former senator Leila de Lima being warmly welcomed and even lauded by members of the same chamber that had vilified her nearly eight years ago.

The former lawmaker, jailed for nearly seven years on trumped-up charges during the administration of her political nemesis Rodrigo Duterte, attended the House of Representatives investigation into the former president’s bloody drug war. She had been invited by human rights committee, chaired by Manila 6th District Representative Bienvenido, which is leading the inquiry.

“I am delighted to see (former) senator De Lima who is still active,” a cordial Abante said of the human rights champion at the start of the hearing.

Had she accommodated a similar invitation in 2016, the reception towards her would have been entirely different.

The House that launched a demolition job against her

In the first year of the Duterte administration, the man from Davao had it out for De Lima. There was a lot of animosity in that relationship after the latter conducted a probe into the supposedly Duterte-backed Davao Death Squad when she was head of the Commission on Human Rights in 2009.

As Duterte’s anti-drug campaign kicked into high gear only a few days into his presidency, De Lima called for a Senate investigation into the summary killings, a move that angered the chief executive, who subsequently promised to “destroy” the senator.

The attacks from the House of Representatives — dominated by Duterte’s allies — soon followed.

Eleven lawmakers, led by then-speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, filed a resolution calling for an investigation into the proliferation of drug syndicates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) when De Lima was secretary of the Department of Justice, which supervises the state penitentiary.

In marathon hearings beginning September 2016, the justice committee invited at least a dozen witnesses – many of them granted immunity from criminal prosecution – who pinned De Lima as the culprit of the narcotics trade at the NBP. At least five of them had pending clemency applications, posing a conflict of interest that the House just downplayed.

Worse, the lawmakers dug into De Lima’s personal life, feasting on her romantic relationship with her former bodyguard, Ronnie Dayan. The congressmen asked Dayan nonsense questions, some filled with sexual innuendos. They also floated the possibility of playing an alleged sex video featuring De Lima, a plan that drew condemnation from De Lima’s female colleagues in the Senate.

“It is a blow to our collective struggle to uplift the dignity of the woman, respect her agency and her autonomy over her own body, and is a form of slut-shaming that will not set a good example for the country,” read the resolution unanimously signed by four female senators back then.

De Lima snubbed the House hearings, calling them a “sham inquiry” aimed at destroying her, “upon orders of the President.” In February 2017, a court arrested her on drug charges, based on allegations that were echoed during the congressional probe.

The House that treats her as a subject matter expert

Eight years later, the political climate in the country has significantly changed.

Duterte finished his term in 2022, ushering in a new era of leadership under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Initially seen by critics as someone who would continue the policies of his authoritarian predecessor, the late dictator’s son went a different route, and has been trying to rebrand himself on the international stage as a human rights supporter, even though drug war killings just significantly slowed down, and didn’t necessarily stop under his watch.

The Marcos and the Dutertes – two dynasties in Philippine politics with a complicated relationship – have also had a falling out in the past year.

In November, the court finally granted De Lima’s petition for bail, marking her release from detention for the first time in nearly seven years.

“This is a breathing room from the seven years of nightmare that we thought was all over in 1986,” De Lima said in February. “Under [Marcos], we are given the opportunity to make use of a democratic space in transition from the authoritarian regime that was Duterte’s.”

In June, she was cleared of all drug charges.

“We are very appreciative of the former senator for gracing this affair, and congratulations for winning all your cases in court,” Lanao del Sur 1st District Representative Zia Alonto Adiong, human rights committee vice chairperson, told De Lima during Monday’s hearing.

“Allow me to commend our former secretary of justice and former senator whose strength we really admired,” Iloilo 1st District Representative Janette Garin added. “Women are usually perceived to be less stronger than men, but in the case of former senator De Lima, she has proven otherwise.”

Some of the lead actors in the House probe against De Lima have faced some political or personal misfortune. Then-House justice committee Rey Umali died in January 2021 after a battle with liver cancer and COVID-19. Rudy Fariñas of Ilocos Norte, Doy Leachon of Oriental Mindoro, and Salvador Belaro Jr. of 1-Ang Edukasyon lost in their respective races in 2022. Davao del Norte 1st District Representative Pantaleon Alvarez was censured by his colleagues in May for disorderly behavior. Harry Roque of party-list group Kabayan, who later became Duterte’s spokesman, is among the subjects of a Senate investigation into various anomalies surrounding Philippine offshore gaming operators.

Other congressmen who initiated the probe against De Lima, however, remain part of the 19th Congress.

But eight years since House lawmakers launched misogynistic attacks against her, the chamber — or perhaps one committee — finally afforded De Lima the respect that she deserves, acknowledging her for, at least, the portfolio that she carries: a subject matter expert who extensively investigated the pattern of vigilante killings that persisted under the leadership of Duterte – whether as a city mayor, or president of the republic.

On Monday, House members listened – when she revived her calls for the establishment of a truth commission, when she called Duterte the mastermind of the drug war killings, when she rebutted the Philippine National Police for second-guessing whether to include homicide cases in the death toll, when she called out the “practically non-existent” investigation of drug war killings by local authorities, and even when she lamented that the House may be too late the hero.

“You cannot blame me if I say that we are actually better off waiting for the results of the International Criminal Court investigation, which is light years ahead of our local investigation,” she said. “I appreciate the efforts of this committee, at least we now have these proceedings, although I must say it’s rather late. But better late than never.” – Rappler.com