Senator De Lima, the constitutional presumption of innocence, and press freedom

TIME

and again, our Supreme Court has ruled that “the constitutional presumption of innocence is not an empty platitude meant only to embellish the Bill of Rights. Its purpose is to balance the scales in what would otherwise be an uneven contest between the lone individual pitted against the People of the Philippines and all the resources at their command. Its inexorable mandate is that, for all the authority and influence of the prosecution, the accused must be acquitted and set free if his guilt cannot be proved beyond the whisper of a doubt. That mandate shall be enforced.”

And because of this bedrock of apresumption, all accused should be accorded the liberties provided by the Constitution, including the legitimate exercise of free speech. Mere charges without conviction cannot be the basis of a deprivation overpowering the force of that presumed innocence.

And yet Sen. Leila de Lima has precisely been suffering from this deprivation. She cannot freely talk to the press and media about current events, national issues, and even her personal travails.Worse, her services as a duly elected senator of the republic to voice out the concerns of, to say the least, the 14,000,000 Filipinos who voted for her are effectively constricted.

She has been limited to hand-written messages which, obviously, cannot reach as many people as possible. Access to interviews in radio, television, and the social media has been curtailed. This restraint is constitutionally repugnant.

Former Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court once admonished: “When the prison gate slams behind an inmate, he does not lose his human quality.” His inherent and human right to an unfettered exercise of legitimate expression must be honored.

Significantly, after a thorough deliberation on Senator De Lima’s case, the opinion of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released in November, 2018, pointed out the root cause for her condition. I tobserved:

“The Working Group cannot help but notice that Ms. De Lima’s political views and convictions are clearly at the centre of the present case and that the authorities have displayed an attitude towards her that can only be characterized as targeted and discriminatory. Indeed she has been the target of partisan persecution and there is no explanation for this other than her exercise of the right to express such views and convictions as a human rights defender. The Government did not refute any of these allegations.”

Senator De Lima, unconvicted as of yet of any felony, must be allowed to ventilate, without hindrance or reserve, her various concerns in relation to her prison condition and much more, as a public servant, her views on national issues. Her isolated situation, despite being presumed innocent, can easily subject her to governmental abuse. Free speech heard by the public serves as her only weapon against the danger of institutional violence. Her right to express her feelings and advocacies must be untrammeled.

Another victim of the forced nonaccessibility of Senator De Lima is the press. And the freedom of the press is, particularly, one of the sacred liberties enshrined in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights and, broadly, a powerful weapon against the destruction of our democratic values.

Especially during times when the other great government institutions — such as Congress and the Supreme Court — may be passive, the press is the constitutional watchdog against official abuses, being the fourth estate relaying news to the people. It is the press’ responsibility — at any time determined by its members and as they see fit — to inform the public of everything about Senator De Lima’s condition, rights, and any of their violations. This must be unobstructed by government.

The world has already taken notice of what is happening to her. For example, in July, 2018, albeit incarcerated, she was awarded the “Prize for Freedom” by the prestigious Liberal International. Many Filipinos believe that if persecution can happen against a world renowned ladysenator of the republic, then such persecution can happen to any ordinary citizen without much difficulty from the “powers that be.” That situation smacks of oppression which the press can put to task.

Two years have passed since Senator Leila de Lima has been jailed. She is admirably “facing the music” courageously. In patientia possidebitis animas vestras (by your endurance you shall gain your life). In the end, I think right and goodness will prevail. Let freedom ring.