THE long incarceration of Sen. Leila de Lima is clearly a political persecution. President Duterte cannot forgive the senator for her relentless crusade against extra-judicial killings and her no-nonsense investigation of human rights violations as chair of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) when Duterte was still mayor of Davao City.
As chair of the Senate committee on human rights, Senator De Lima made headlines by summoning witnesses who shed light on the brutality of the drug war that gave embarrassment to the Duterte administration. It was not surprising that the President’s minions in the Senate stripped de Lima of her chairmanship of the important Senate committee on human rights.
Not satisfied with stripping de Lima of her legislative power as chair of a vital committee, the administration filed fabricated charges against the lady senator. Non-bailable charges of conspiracy to smuggle drugs based on perjured testimonies of convicted felons were filed by the justice department against her.
It is now almost three years when the lady senator from Bicol was arrested and detained because of politically motivated charges. Demands made by local civil libertarians went unheeded and fell on deaf ears. But the global village is growing smaller and the solidarity of concerned peoples of the world keeps on growing.
Last year, some lawmakers from many parliaments of the European Union issued a manifesto urging the Philippine government to release the senator. Now, the light at the end of the tunnel has become brighter. The US government is clearly watching De Lima’s case. Lately, an amendment was introduced by US Senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy during the deliberation of the 2020 US Appropriations Bill for State and Foreign Operations. The amendment reads: “Prohibition on Entry--Sec. 7022 of this act shall be applied to officials of the government of the Philippines about whom the Secretary of State has credible information that they have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of Sen. Leila de Lima who was arrested in 2017 on politically motivated charges.”
Presidential mouthpiece Salvador Panelo quickly condemned the act of the two US senators, invoking “foreign interference” in the country’s judicial process. He forgets that to determine whom to bar or to admit into one’s country is the sovereign prerogative of every state. If the Durbin-Leahy amendment gets US congressional approval and becomes part of the 2020 US Appropriations Bill, it would be a great psychological boost for Sen. de Lima.
Human rights are shared values of all civilized nations and the US government has every right to adopt policies for the promotion of man’s inalienable rights. This latest development is most welcomed and de Lima’s suffering is almost over, while her tormentors’ woes have begun. As the saying goes, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but ultimately, it bends towards the direction of justice.” (By Democrito C. Barcenas)