On 2,000th day of detention, De Lima laments ‘broken’ justice system
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MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Leila de Lima said Tuesday that her continued detention on illegal drugs charges she claims are trumped up is proof that the Philippines has a “broken” justice system.
“My continued detention on the basis of evidently and utterly false cases is yet another reminder to the world that the justice system in our country is broken,” De Lima said on the 2,000th day of her detention in a written dispatch from her cell in Camp Crame in Quezon City.
She vowed to continue fighting for her “own deliverance from injustice and vindication … in spite of futile attempts to break [her.]”
At least three personalities, including a government star witness, have retracted their allegations linking De Lima to illegal drugs and have since admitted that their testimonies were false and were made due to threats.
Despite this, government lawyers said they are not dropping charges against De Lima, who has been acquitted in one of three drug cases. The Office of the Ombudsman also recently cleared her in a bribery complaint.
“By fabricating spurious charges against me to deplatform and silence me, the former wannabe dictator only proved my point and solidified his status as an oppressor, demonstrating his vindictiveness,” De Lima said, referring to former President Rodrigo Duterte whom she tried investigating in the Senate over his brutal “war on drugs.”
“I wait for the day when justice returns in our country,” De Lima said. “In the meantime, #LabanLang (we fight.)” — Xave Gregorio
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