De Lima began her career as a staff member of
Supreme CourtAssociate JusticeIsagani Cruz from 1986 to 1989. She subsequently entered private practice in the 1990s, specializing in election law. She also taught law at San Beda College of Law from 1986 to 1994 and from 2006 to 2007 and worked as secretary of the
House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal from 1993 to 1995.[4][6]
De Lima condemned the
Philippine Drug War and urged
Congress to investigate.[11] She called for an end to vigilante killings of drug suspects. On her privilege speech at the
Senate on August 2, she noted that "we cannot wage the war against drugs with blood..."[12] De Lima lamented the indifference of President
Rodrigo Duterte's government to extrajudicial killings and warned that more innocent people will suffer if the killings fail to stop.[13]
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On August 17, 2016, Philippine President
Rodrigo Duterte alleged that de Lima was having an affair with her driver, Ronnie Dayan, who Duterte also alleged functioned as de Lima's
collector for drug protection money when she was Justice secretary.[16][17] Duterte also alleged that Dayan had been using drugs.[18] Duterte later claimed that he had in his possession
wiretaps and
ATM records which confirmed his allegations which he had received from an unnamed foreign country.[19] In September 2016, de Lima was removed as chair of the Senate Justice and Human Rights committee investigating extrajudicial killings.[20] She later admitted that she had a relationship with Dayan many years ago. Justice secretary
Vitaliano Aguirre called on convicted drug lords, former prison officials and police officers as prime witnesses against de Lima in a congressional probe on illegal drug trafficking in the
New Bilibid Prison.[21][22][23] Dayan went into hiding after being advised by de Lima to not attend the House probe, but was captured days later.[24]
Albuera, Leyte Mayor
Rolando Espinosa corroborated allegations that de Lima benefited from the illegal drug activities of his son
Kerwin Espinosa in
Eastern Visayas.[25] Included in the Mayor's affidavit is a picture of de Lima with Kerwin Espinosa in Baguio City.[26] Kerwin Espinosa later testified that he gave her a total of ₱8 million to help finance her senatorial campaign in 2016.[27]
In late April 2022, Kerwin Espinosa recanted his statements on the case, and said that he was coerced by the police after his father
was killed in jail.[33] The
Department of Justice downplayed his recantation, saying it did not affect their case against de Lima, as he was not a witness.[34]
In early May 2022, Rafael Ragos, former
Bureau of Corrections director general and another witness in de Lima's drug case recanted his testimony. Ragos previously testified that de Lima accepted ₱5 million from him via drug lord Peter Co, while she was Secretary of Justice, and that it was later used to fund her senatorial campaign in 2016.[35] Ragos alleged that Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II coerced him to lie to implicate de Lima. Aguirre denied the accusation.[36]
Co-accused Ronnie Dayan also recanted his testimony in May 2022. Dayan alleged that Representative
Reynaldo Umali had coerced him to lie in his 2016 testimony in Congress.[37]
In October 2023, former police officers PMaj. Rodolfo Magleo and PSgt. Nonilo Arile retracted their testimonies against de Lima.[38]
Court decisions
De Lima was acquitted in two court cases filed against her. She has one case pending with the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204.[39]
On January 5, 2022, the
Ombudsman dismissed bribery complaints filed in 2018 against de Lima and Ronnie Dayan, citing lack of probable cause to indict the two, in connection with accusations that de Lima received a total of ₱8 million from Kerwin Espinosa, allegedly through Dayan, on four separate occasions in 2015–2016. The ruling was only made public in August.[40][41]
On May 27, 2022,
MuntinlupaRegional Trial Court Branch 206 dismissed the petition to cite de Lima and her legal counsel, Filibon Tacardon, in indirect contempt over their statements on the testimonies of prosecution witnesses, citing lack of merit and rendering other pending incidents as moot and academic.[42]
Detention and legal proceedings
On February 17, 2017, a court pressed drug-related charges against de Lima.[43] On February 23, the
MuntinlupaRegional Trial Court issued an
arrest warrant against de Lima for allegedly violating the
drug trafficking law.[44][45] De Lima faces drug related cases for allegedly using her position as Secretary of Justice to acquire money from drug pushers to make their drug business operational even though they are imprisoned. de Lima turned herself in the following morning of February 24, 2017. She has also been referred to as a 'prisoner of conscience' by numerous international human rights organizations.[46][47]
On February 5, 2018, the
Ombudsman of the Philippines cleared de Lima from all charges of financial terrorism and violation of the anti-graft law.[48] On February 20, during the World Day of Social Justice, all ethics complaints filed against de Lima were junked by the
Philippine Senate.[49][50]
On March 3, 2018, de Lima sought the approval of the court to let her attend the looming impeachment trial against Chief Justice
Maria Lourdes Sereno.[51][52] On March 10, a court approved de Lima's medical furlough due to problems in her liver.[53] On March 13, the self-confessed drug lords were freed by the government due to 'lack of evidence'.[54][55] On April 5, Justice Secretary
Vitaliano Aguirre II, who initiated de Lima's imprisonment, resigned after evidences on corruption surfaced to media attention, along with his acquittal of the self-confessed drug lords.[56]
On May 28, 2018, the Muntinlupa court denied de Lima's plea to attend the law graduation of her youngest son, Vincent.[57] The court stated that de Lima 'cannot be given a different treatment as that of other prisoners'.[58] On May 30, de Lima filed a motion to reconsider her plea to attend her son's graduation, citing convicted plunderer and ex-senator
Jinggoy Estrada, who was allowed by the
Sandiganbayan to attend his son's graduation in 2015.[59] Hours before her son's graduation on June 3, Presiding Judge Amelia Fabros-Corpuz of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 205 rejected de Lima's motion for reconsideration in attending to her son's law graduation.[60]
On June 6, the
Supreme Court of the Philippines upheld the 'constitutionality' of de Lima's arrest based on drug charges filed by Aguirre, blasting calls from international human rights organizations.[61] The court added that 'no further pleadings will be entertained', effectively blocking all remedies for release.[62] On August 6, the Supreme Court denied de Lima's plea to allow her to join the Senate debates regarding Duterte's initiative to withdraw the Philippines from the
International Criminal Court.[63][64] On August 10, 18 months after her imprisonment, de Lima was finally arraigned in the drug cases established by the Department of Justice.[65]
On August 3, Ronnie Dayan formally refused to testify against her alleged 'disobedience case'.[66]
On October 8, 2022, de Lima survived an attempted hostage taking inside
Camp Crame after detainees said to be linked with the
Abu Sayyaf Group stabbed a police officer. Police reported that de Lima was safe and that the officer was hospitalized.[67]
Recognition and calls for release
On March 16, 2017, the
European Parliament condemned the wave of killings in the Philippines and called for de Lima's release.[68] It expressed "serious concerns that the offences Senator de Lima has been charged with are almost entirely fabricated".[69]Amnesty International regards de Lima as a "prisoner of conscience".[70] Despite her imprisonment, de Lima continued to oppose the policies of Duterte and remained a member of the
Philippine Senate and the
Liberal Party.[71][72][73]
In late July 2017, de Lima was visited by members of the
European Parliament and the
Liberal International.[76][77] In September, the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) demanded de Lima's immediate release and the restoration of human rights in the Philippines.[78] In the same month, de Lima's ally in the Senate,
Risa Hontiveros, caught justice secretary
Vitaliano Aguirre II drafting fabricated charges against her through text messages during a hearing on the deaths of minors caused by the
Philippine Drug War. The same tactic was used by him against de Lima, which led to her arrest.[79] In November 2017, de Lima was awarded the
Prize for Freedom by Liberal International, becoming the second Filipino to receive the prestigious award after
Corazon Aquino.[80] She formally accepted the prize in absentia on July 28, 2018.[81] On December 5, 2017, she was again awarded with the Leading Global Thinker award by Foreign Policy for the second consecutive year.[82]
On February 1, 2018, de Lima topped Asian Correspondent's list of five prominent Southeast Asian leaders and human rights defenders who are facing charges for defying the norm.[83] On February 3, de Lima was dubbed as the "conscience of our time" by an independent news agency.[84] On February 20, the
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) called for de Lima's immediate and unconditional release and cited her 'heroism'[85] against corruption and autocracy.[86] It was followed by the Senate minority bloc, liberal members of the
House of Representatives, and Amnesty International pushing anew for her release.[87][88][89] On April 20, de Lima was named by
Fortune Magazine as one of the 'World's 50 Greatest Leaders' for 2018.[90] On May 29, Amnesty International conferred to de Lima its first ever Most Distinguished Human Rights Defender award during the Ignite Awards for Human Rights.[91][92] She was also declared one of the world's “Women Human Rights Defenders Under Threat”.[93] On de Lima's birthday on August 27,
Amnesty International called for the dropping of charges again, adding that she is a 'prisoner of conscience'.[94] Opposition lawmakers also called for her release.[95]
On June 5, 2020, Amnesty International called on Philippine authorities to unconditionally release de Lima. It also called for them to end unreasonable restrictions imposed on her; permit communication with her family, lawyers, staff and doctors; and allow her to undertake her role as an elected legislator and a
human rights defender.[96]
Statements from detention
Since October 2017, de Lima released numerous statements while in prison condemning the death toll of the
Philippine Drug War which by then had killed 14,000 people, mostly minors.[80]
In her 94th letter while in prison on May 29, 2018, de Lima stated "People choose to be passive, perhaps because they feel responsible for voting for him—but no. You are not responsible for what he does after you vote for him. You are, however, responsible for letting him get away with things like this with your silence. By electing him, he has not bought your souls and conscience—on the contrary, he now owes you his accountability."[97][98]
Release on bail
On November 13, 2023, the Muntinlupa RTC granted de Lima's petition for bail on her remaining drug charge, guaranteeing her release after six years in detention.[2] She was released from Camp Crame that evening after paying a bond of ₱300,000.[99]
Following her release, de Lima held a press conference at
Novotel Manila Araneta City, during which she stated that she forgave Duterte but was considering whether to file counter-complaints regarding the accusations against her.[100] After staying overnight in
Quezon City, she then went on a pilgrimage to
Manaoag,
Pangasinan the next day[101] and reunited with her family in Iriga on November 15.[102]
Post-imprisonment
On December 4, 2023, de Lima was designated as the official spokesperson of the Liberal Party, having previously been its vice president for policy, platform, and advocacy.[103] On December 13, she announced that she would serve as a professor of
De La Salle University's
Tañada-Diokno School of Law starting in January 2024, marking her return to teaching law.[104]
Political positions
De Lima was unable to vote against the Congressional vote on extending martial law in Mindanao following the
Battle of Marawi in 2017 because of her detention.[76] In December 2017, de Lima criticized Duterte for his pivot to China, citing what happened in
Sri Lanka,
Myanmar,
Malaysia, and
Cambodia, where those countries were put by China in a debt trap after accepting Chinese loans, leading to China's economic control on those countries.[82]
In January 2018, de Lima criticized Duterte after it was revealed that the national debt ballooned to ₱6.6 trillion and the
debt-to-GDP ratio expanded into 36.4%.[105] She also criticized the government for 'bowing down' to China amidst the
South China Sea dispute and Chinese exploration in the
Benham Rise.[106][107][108]
De Lima sought Senate inquiries regarding the terms of loans of the government's infrastructure program, which indebted the country rapidly within a few months,[109] and the anti-money laundering law compliance after the Ombudsman dropped all money laundering cases against Duterte due to his administration's threats.[110] On April 4, de Lima filed a dismissal for the ouster petition filed against Chief Justice
Maria Lourdes Sereno.[111] On May 13, de Lima joined liberal senators in condemning Sereno's ouster through a
quo warranto petition, which de Lima said was an unconstitutional way to oust an impeachable officer.[112][113]
On June 1, de Lima filed a resolution seeking to probe blacklisted Chinese firms that were accepted by the Duterte administration in the rehabilitation of
Marawi despite being banned by the
World Bank due to corrupt practices.[114] On June 3, de Lima filed a resolution seeking to probe the state-sponsored immigration of Chinese citizens into the Philippines which caused the unemployment of Filipinos.[115] On June 5, de Lima called solicitor-general
Jose Calida, who had helped spearhead her arrest, as a 'role model in government corruption' after reports of a multi-million peso corruption scandal involving him surfaced.[116]
On July 25, de Lima wrote a letter expressing her dismay on the ascension of Duterte ally and former president
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as
House Speaker. She added that Arroyo's rise to power via unconstitutional means has led to the rise of the country's 'true minority'.[117] On July 31, de Lima called on Congress to pass a bill seeking to prohibit premature campaigning in elections.[118] On August 28, she also pushed for a bill that seeks to increase the pension of qualified indigent senior citizens.[119] She also sought the passage of the Pedestrian Safety Act.[120]
On August 1, de Lima welcomed the indictment against
Pork barrel scam mastermind
Janet Lim-Napoles.[121] On August 4, de Lima and other senators spearheaded the need to probe the conditions of displaced persons in war-torn areas of
Mindanao, notably in Marawi.[122] On August 7, de Lima pushed for the passage of the calamity leave bill, which would provide 5 days of calamity leave for workers.[123] On August 11, de Lima filed a bill on incentivizing the use of solar energy in households.[124] On the same day, she joined other senators in calling for a ban on single-occupancy vehicles on
EDSA.[125] On August 18, de Lima expressed the need to probe the
Bureau of Immigration's ₱869-M loss from express lane fees.[126]
On August 24, minority senators called on the Supreme Court to allow de Lima to be present during the ICC withdrawal case through video conference.[127] On August 25, de Lima called for a Senate probe into delays in the free irrigation law's mandated implementing rules and regulations.[128] On August 30, de Lima filed a bill that would raise the statutory age of rape to 18.[129]
Writings
On February 22, 2018, de Lima announced that she would launch an e-book, entitled, "Dispatches from Crame I" on February 23, a day before the anniversary of her incarceration. On February 23, the e-book was officially launched at the office of the Commission on Human Rights in
Quezon City. It contained all the statements and letters written by her since she her imprisonment in 2017. It also contained statements from her supporters from various local and international organizations and personalities.[130][131]
On June 1, 2018, a book by de Lima's spiritual adviser, Fr. Robert Reyes, entitled, Prisoner of Conscience Prisoner of Hope, was launched, containing various accounts from different personalities giving their views of and conversations with de Lima during her incarceration.[132][133]
On de Lima's birthday on August 27, 2018, she released her second book, entitled, Fight for Freedom and Other Writings, which collects her speeches, letters, and notes, as well as letters of support from prominent personalities such as Vice President
Leni Robredo, former
Hong Kong Legislative Council Member
Emily Lau, and Liberal International President
Juli Minoves.[134][135]
Personal life
De Lima was previously married for more than thirty years to lawyer Plaridel Bohol, who was her classmate in college, before their marriage was annulled. She has two children.[4][136][137]
Following her release, De Lima, who describes herself as a dog lover, adopted five cats from Camp Crame who accompanied her constantly during her detention.[139]
Honors and recognition
MetroBank Foundation Professorial Chair for Public Service and Governance (2010)
^Gamil, Jaymee; Yee, Jovic; Quismundo, Tarra (August 29, 2015).
"Iglesia Ni Cristo protesters occupy Edsa". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2015.