De Lima surprised Duterte approached her 

Senator Leila de Lima said she was “surprised” when President Rodrigo Duterte approached her as the Chief Executive made his way to the podium of the House plenary to deliver his first State of the Nation Address Monday.

“I was surprised noong nasa harap ko mismo. Nag-detour siya. He approached me, he extended his hand,” De Lima said in an interview after the two-hour State of the Nation (SONA) at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City.

“He didn’t say anything. He just smiled at me. Ako ang nasabi ko lang, ‘hi, sir’,” the senator said.

On his way to the podium, Duterte stopped and shook hands with De Lima, who was seated at the row of tables reserved for senators. The incident drew laughter from the crowd.

Duterte and De Lima, former Justice Secretary and chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, have repeatedly tangled in the past over the chief executive’s alleged links to the Davao Death Squad. Duterte was former mayor of Davao City. — Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/RSJ, GMA News