Manila, March 24 -- Former Senator Leila de Lima on Monday rejected comparisons to slain democracy icon Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., after Vice President Sara Duterte warned her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, of possible arrest should he return to the Philippines.

In a Facebook post, de Lima said Aquino "returned to the Philippines knowing it could cost him his life," calling his sacrifice an act of courage for "the nation, for democracy, for the Filipino people."

"Duterte's drama today is nothing but a desperate attempt to escape accountability," de Lima wrote.

"Justice isn't swayed by melodrama, only by truth. And history will always know the difference," she added.

Her post was in response to remarks made by the Vice Pres...