Senator Leila De Lima marked her 1000th day in detention yesterday, November 20.
The senator has been detained at the custodial center of the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame since February 2017.
De Lima is accused of neglecting the flood of illegal drugs in Bilibid when she was a Justice secretary.
But in a statement Wednesday, De Lima said it was an honor for her to be imprisoned for her actions.
“Today, 1,000 days since my arrest, I say it again: Karangalan ko po na makulong dahil sa mga ipinaglalaban ko. Palagian po nating tandaan: hindi laging maghahari ang dilim. Our truth defeat their lies,” De Lima said.
(Today, 1,000 days since my arrest, I say it again: It is my honor to be imprisoned for what I fight for. We must always remember: darkness does not always reign. Our truth defeats their lies.)
President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, criticized De Lima during his speech at the 80th anniversary of the Department of National Defense (DND) at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
Human rights groups call to release De Lima on her 1000th day in detention
In a statement published on the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Wednesday, Vice President Leni Robredo, former President Benigno Aquino III, and hundreds of leaders across the globe condemned De Lima’s continued detention.
“We condemn the wrongful and indefinite imprisonment of [De Lima] whose cases are on protracted and are prosecuted with the use of dubious testimonies of inmates,” the statement said
“Given the dubiousness of the charges against [De Lima] and the indubitable violations of her rights, we urge the Government of the Philippines to immediately free [De Lima] and to drop the charges against her,” they added.
In September 2019, a US Senate panel has approved an amendment to a bill that would ban any Philippine government official involved in the imprisonment of Philippine Senator Leila de Lima.
The bill amendment was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and will prohibit any Philippine officials involved in the detention of de Lima from entering the US.