Senators made the costly mistake of bringing the firebrand former president to testify in the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee’s recycled probe on the war on drugs.

Using his patented candidness, former president Rodrigo Duterte proved his conviction against social blights, mainly those stemming from drug addiction.

The losing side kept using the word “unacceptable” and hid behind the mantle of the elite that only reminded the public of the hypocritical mob that was all discredited and had been turned away by voters.

Remember the word “noted” in a past tally of votes where cheating was suspected, which has the same chutzpah common to those who staged the extra-constitutional overthrow of the government.

“This is our house,” said the lady senator who tried to paint Duterte into a corner but which only resulted in baring her inadequacy as an armchair legislator far removed from the real world.

In trying to engage Duterte in a toe-to-toe verbal skirmish, she practically threw away any iota of chance she had for a higher office and kissed goodbye her public service career.

The sense of possession and entitlement oozed in how she crossed swords with the veteran servant Duterte. She wanted to collar the President regarding the deaths of young individuals in the war on drugs by spinning his word about taking responsibility for all police actions literally.

However, Duterte is not one to be taken at face value, as he loves to play with words to best bring his message across.

Unfortunately, the lady legislator dwelled on his admission of having a Davao Death Squad, which was his way of saying that the police commanders in his jurisdiction were made to commit to his unforgiving position against criminals and the trafficking of narcotics.

The presumptuous senator was emboldened by the barrage of condemnations from foreign groups on the drug war and her yellow cohorts who attended in force during the hearing but were totally overwhelmed by those in the gallery who lavishly gave Duterte approval through a resounding ovation.

The Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee chairperson had to remind the crowd not to clap or they’d be removed from the chamber.

Duterte’s nemesis in the Senate was also goaded by the Blue Ribbon subpanel head’s understanding that the proceedings become a public record and can be accessed by the International Criminal Court which has been conducting a crimes against humanity probe based on a partisan complaint.

What came across was Duterte being hard to demolish since he is consistent with his words.

His past statements, including the broadsides, did not deviate in any manner, which is what the public hungered for in a world where deception is a way of life.

The mob leader, who was smirking at the start of the hearing, believing that Duterte had walked into a trap, emerged from the inquiry stripped of impertinence.

Catching the attention of viewers was Duterte’s riposte to the accusations of the senator: “You did not serve as a mayor nor a prosecutor,” which put the party-list legislator in her place.

“You never had the chance to solve the problem of a community,” he continued, stating the complexities of applying solutions to crucibles that are not for the faint of heart.

Instead of leading the former president into a frame-up, the senators succeeded in reviving the Duterte mystique while sealing the demise of the hypocritical mob who believes they have the divine appointment to decide for Filipinos what is “unacceptable” or not.