This Philippine senator is a vocal critic of Duterte’s drug war - and she’s been ousted from the killing inquiry she started

Senator Leila de Lima spearheaded an inquiry into the widespread killings of drug suspects

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Senator Leila de Lima has had a running feud with Duterte. As the former head of the government’s human rights commission, she investigated Duterte’s alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings of criminals when he was mayor of southern Davao city, where he built a name for his tough crime-busting style. Photo: EPA

Published: 1:26pm, 20 Sep 2016Updated: 10:34pm, 20 Sep 2016

The leading critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drug crime has been ousted as head of a Senate investigation into the campaign, which has cost thousands of lives.

Senator Leila de Lima said her probe into the surge of killings since Duterte took office on June 30 had been derailed after his allies voted Monday night to remove her as head of the Senate justice committee.

De Lima, a former justice secretary who headed the independent investigation into the 2010 Manila hostage crisis in which seven Hong Kong tourists and their guide were shot dead by a disgruntled former police officer, launched the Senate probe.

It heard explosive allegations last week from a former hitman that Duterte ordered hundreds of killings when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao and even shot one victim himself.

The government described the allegations as lies.

On Monday pro-Duterte senators who control the legislative chamber charged that de Lima’s investigation was ruining the country’s image.