MANILA, Philippines – On the seventh anniversary of her arrest, former senator Leila de Lima paid tribute to victims of the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs, noting that injustice continues to persist.

De Lima, who’s commemorating her arrest for the first time as a free woman, said her temporary freedom, while cherished, is not the end of the struggle.

“Injustice continues to cast a long shadow over our nation, its darkness deepened by the countless Filipinos who perished in the brutal war on drugs. Their stories cry out for justice, yet accountability remains an elusive dream. Those responsible walk free, shielded by impunity, while families mourn and communities bear the scars of a senseless tragedy. This cannot be our reality,” the former lawmaker said in a statement on Saturday, February 24.

De Lima said her fight for justice continues and doesn’t end with her release. She said the memory of the innocent victims of injustices and the yearning of the people for a nation that respects human rights fuel her dedication.

“I call upon all Filipinos to join me in this fight. Let us use our voices, our votes, and our collective action to build a nation where freedom is not a privilege but a birthright, and justice is not a distant dream but a lived reality,” De Lima added.

On Saturday, De Lima attended a Mass in Quezon City presided by activist-priest Robert Reyes. The priest said he was glad De Lima was able to attend his Mass outside of detention since they held Mass inside her detention facility in the last six years.

“But now, we are happy. Leila is not in jail. We’re celebrating her seventh anniversary of imprisonment not in jail, but outside jail, and soon, walking as a free person once the case is dropped. And we pray and offer this Mass that soon and soon, very soon, that the last case will finally be dismissed,” the priest said during the start of the Holy Mass.

The former opposition lawmaker was a staunch critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte and his drug war. As a senator, De Lima headed the probe into Duterte’s drug war, which took the lives of at least 6,000 people – 30,000, if vigilante-style killings are included, according to human rights groups. De Lima even presented during the Senate probe self-confessed Davao Death Squad (DDS) member Edgar Matobato, who confirmed they took orders from Duterte.

But the tension between De Lima and Duterte did not just start there. When De Lima was still the chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, she also probed the killings of the so-called DDS. Whistleblowers from the said group alleged they carried out kill orders from Duterte himself.

Under Duterte, three drug charges were filed against De Lima. The cases stemmed from the accusation that she allegedly enabled the drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison when she was justice secretary, supposedly to fund her 2016 senatorial campaign.

Seven years ago, on the morning of February 24, 2017, De Lima was arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and was detained at the PNP Custodial Center inside Camp Crame.

While detained, De Lima saw the dismissal of two of her drug cases. The first drug charge was junked in 2021, while the other was dismissed last May. The third and last drug charge is still pending before the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 but is expected to reach a decision this year.

For the duration of De Lima’s trial, at least 13 witnesses have so far recanted their allegations against De Lima. This includes alleged Visayas drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, who said he was “coerced, pressured, intimidated, and seriously threatened,” and former corrections chief Rafael Ragos, the prosecution’s star witness.

Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 206 Presiding Judge Gener Gito granted De Lima’s bail petition on November 13, 2023, paving the way for the former lawmaker’s temporary freedom. The judge said in his decision that De Lima and her co-accused should be allowed to post bail “as the prosecution was not able to discharge its burden of establishing that the guilt of the said accused is strong.”

At present, De Lima serves as spokesperson of the Liberal Party after her appointment in December 2023. – Rappler.com