As De Lima walks free, rights defenders declare time’s up for accusers, jailers

MANILA, Philippines — As former Senator Leila De Lima works to rebuild her life following a Muntinlupa court’s granting of her bail, human rights groups and minority lawmakers have sounded a rallying cry to hold her jailers accountable for subjecting her to what they have described as an unjust and prolonged detention.

Rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said that De Lima should never have been detained in the first place given that the evidence against her had been “fabricated” and “concocted” in retaliation for her criticisms of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.

“This last remaining drug case against her must be dismissed expeditiously, and those behind her arbitrary detention and other violations of her human rights must be brought to justice,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

Human Rights Watch stressed that the charges against De Lima — now down to one following witness recantations — were “politically motivated” and concocted by Duterte’s allies who were bent on “(punishing) her for performing her duties as a senator and speaking out against the ‘war on drugs.’”

Both Makakabayan bloc lawmakers Rep. France Castro (ACT Teachers) and Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party) said that while the granting of De Lima’s bail is a positive step toward her freedom, the individuals responsible for her detention must be similarly brought to justice.

Brosas said that “the fight for justice does not end here” as there is a need to “hold accountable those responsible for her unjust incarceration and the trumped-up charges against her,” while Castro said De Lima’s accusers and jailers should be the ones “jailed in the near future.”

Similarly, Liberal Party President Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay, 1st District) said that De Lima’s granted application for bail is “a harsh indictment of those who falsely accused her of wrongdoing.”

Lagman also lauded De Lima for staying the course by insisting on her liberty and refusing to “(accept) the authority’s condescending offer of hospital or house arrest.”

On Monday, Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 granted De Lima's petition for bail by reversing an earlier junked