Despite being Senator Leila de Lima's biggest critic, President Rodrigo
Duterte admitted on Tuesday that the former justice chief's admission of
an affair with former driver and alleged bagman Ronnie Dayan is not enough to implicate her in the drug trade. "Medyo malayo iyun, malayo iyun...iyung lalaki wala, 'di mo rin makita, 'di mo makunan statement and he cannot answer for himself because he is not around," Duterte told reporters Tuesday night. [It's a long shot. The guy is not here, you can't find him and get his statement. He also can't answer for himself.] De Lima admitted to having an affair with Dayan during a television interview this week, saying she the relationship lasted for a "few years" and that she broke up with him before she ran for senator. De Lima had never denied that she had a relationship with Dayan, who was accused by Duterte of receiving drug money for her 2016 senatorial campaign.