13
“We decided to just go and see her in court. And we were just behind Senator Leila de Lima. We were able to talk to her and we said, ‘What can we do for you? What can we continue to do for you?’ And she said: ‘Shine a spotlight for my safety.’ Because she’s not […]
12
“The charges against Senator Leila de Lima are pure fiction. She has been singled out and targeted for nothing but her courageous opposition to President Duterte’s appalling policies. We consider her to be a prisoner of conscience and urge the authorities to release her immediately and unconditionally.”
11
“De Lima fights on — with the five fingers of one hand splayed open in the gesture that is not only a graphic representation of her name but also a symbol of her determination to ‘stop’ everything that is wrong with this government. As she says: ‘I may be the one in detention, but I […]
10
“Alone, she reads and writes, she exercises and prays. She’s wise to welcome the silence and embrace the solitude and take in the benefits from the meditative circumstance in which she finds herself. Her faith is unshakeable. She believes that, if God wills it, she will be able to serve her country again—in freedom.”
09
“Now, what are we witnessing: three great branches of government: the EXECUTIVE, the LEGISLATIVE, and the JUDICIARY against one woman. Nothing is more extraordinary. It takes a person of great fortitude to withstand the onslaught of such institutional bombardment and to continue to fight for reason and justice against all odds.”
08
“This is the strong arm of the state at play. And in political cases where the highest official of the land, who is in charge of appointing judges and justices, has a personal stake, even courts become a part of this strong arm, whether wittingly or unwittingly.”
07
“The good Senator De Lima sits in her cell and feels the weight of injustice and does her good works. Day after day after hundreds of days. Two years’ worth of days.…I wonder what would happen if Filipinos were able to feel the anguish of their freedom being snuffed out?…I wonder if they could be […]
06
“In a word, De Lima is in detention for the wrong crime — deliberately put in a maze of cement walls and barbed wire by the government’s chief lawyer, no less, with the consent of the justice secretary himself. This is not a mere technicality (“the difference between provisions doesn’t really matter, as long as […]
05
“Your detention is the biggest symbol of what is wrong with our country; but your faith and courage is also the best symbol of hope for what we can do to heal this land.”
04
“To allow the continued detention of [De Lima] under this Information is one of the grossest injustices ever perpetrated in recent memory in full view of the Filipino nation and the entire world.”