Members of The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) Foundation have called for the immediate release of Senator de Lima from detention.
“It has been five years since she was arrested and detained after being unjustly maligned and slut-shamed,” TOWNS said in a statement.
The group said De Lima was only performing her duty as then chairperson of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights in pursuing the probe on extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration.
“She was falsely charged with three counts of illegal drug trafficking and has been detained in virtual isolation in Camp Crame, deprived of liberty, access to radio, TV, internet, and allowed only limited visits, even by family members. She has also been repeatedly denied bail,” the group said.
“Senator de Lima has faced charges in three courts where her principal accusers are convicted drug lords who turned ‘state witnesses’, some of whom have since been murdered or died in prison. Seven of the judges hearing her cases have either resigned or sought early retirement. Last year, she was exonerated, found not guilty in one of her cases.”
“Clearly, the charges against her are dubious and unfounded. Her continued incarceration is unjust and unconstitutional, a blight on our justice system,” the group added.
The signatories include former Health chief Esperanza Cabral, former peace adviser Teresita Quintos-Deles, former Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, and broadcast journalists Ces Drilon and Cheche Lazaro, among others.
