‘Truth has set me free,’ says Leila de Lima, ‘after 2,454 days of undeserved detention’
Free at last! Former Senator Leila de Lima began reading her prepared statement following her release from Camp Crame last Monday, Nov. 13: “After six years, eight months, and 21 days – this is the 2,454th day, I’m free at last!”
“Though it took so long,” she said, “I never lost faith.” Counting all those years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds – and reckoning all the important milestones she had missed, it was her faith that sustained her: “Nanalig, nanalangin ako, darating din ang panahon ng aking paglaya.” (I believed, I prayed, the day of my freedom would come.)
Every moment was a test, she said, but she was firmly determined: “They will never take away my humanity.” She resolved that she would focus “only on things within my control.” She narrated: “Not only did I survive, I came out stronger. Truth, justice, human rights, rule of law – these are not just words, these served as my lifelines. Kayo po ang aking ipinaglaban.” (I fought for all of you.)
She said that throughout her long period of detention, she believed that she would be vindicated eventually. Her fidelity to the law was evident: She thanked the Marcos administration for upholding the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.
Despite her long ordeal of unjust incarceration, she harbored no ill will. When asked for her personal message to her known adversary: “God forgive him, God bless him.”
It may be well at this point to recall the key events that led to her undeserved detention.
As the chairperson of the Senate committee on justice, she convened public hearings to inquire into reports that there were “death squads” operating in Davao City. The allegations coming out of the hearings must have reached a certain tipping point. On majority vote of her Senate colleagues, she was removed as committee chair.
On Feb. 24, 2017, she was arrested “for illegal drug charges, including an alleged agreement between the accused and New Bilibid Prison inmates to sell and trade illegal drugs to fund her 2016 senatorial bid.” Ranged against her was a slew of convicted drug traffickers then jailed in the New
Bilibid Prison. Some of her erstwhile direct subordinates were either implicated or used against her. Two of the three cases were dismissed by the court, leaving only one case in active litigation – and this is the case in which she has just been granted bail.
“This is a triumphant moment for me,” she said, “a moment of joy.” No political discussions for now. Filing cases against those who unjustly persecuted her remains an option.
She mused on her personal and family life that had been severely and harshly affected during her nearly seven-year incarceration. Her son passed the bar examination; she was not allowed to witness his oath-taking. She has an ailing 91-year-old mother whom she has not seen for more than four years. Reuniting with her is one of her priorities.
Former Justice Secretary Leila also lamented the loss of her friends, former President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III, and former DSWD Secretary Corazon ‘Dinky’ Soliman who passed away in June and September 2021, respectively.
I recall the almost daily meetings we had with President Aquino, who was keenly mindful that, as Chief Executive, his decisions and actions had to conform with both the Constitution and the laws of the land. She was the President’s key legal adviser, along with the executive secretary and the chief presidential legal counsel. Secretary Leila was always a personable, go-to legal consultant for her fellow Cabinet members.
When then DILG Secretary Jesse
Robredo passed away (he perished from a plane crash), the President and the Cabinet honored him with a three-day wake in Malacañang Palace. I recall that Secretary Leila was our star soloist. Although she professed reticence, she was ready with her own USB for her minus-one accompaniment and rendered the solo refrain for Betcha By Golly Wow, one of Jesse’s favorite songs.
She said her more than six years’ unjust detention “was a curse I didn’t deserve, and a blessing from which I learned much.” She said she became “more prayerful, closer to the Lord” as she read the Bible daily. She also learned to appreciate mundane things, including stray cats at the Camp Crame detention center, whose “presence kept my sanity intact.” All told, she said, “it was a purifying experience.”
One of the most often-repeated words of consolation offered by wellmeaning friends was: “We know how you feel.” On further reflection, she realized that truly, they would know how it really feels, only if they have experienced it themselves, and in real-time, not just vicariously, or through the prism of another person’s experience.
I, too, had a Camp Crame detention experience. But I was not alone, as she was – or nearly was. I was with more than a hundred detainees. And we were detained in the Camp Crame gymnasium, not in a private room or cell as she was. I was a detainee for only the first 47 days of martial law; she was detained for 2,454 days – or 52 times longer.
In 1972, what was psychologically challenging was not knowing how it was like to live under a martial law regime. Leila de Lima had to hang on a thread of faith, praying daily for her personal safety and eventual deliverance from those who wished her harm.
She said she looks forward to resuming a routinary daily life outside of a detention facility. Yes, she would join in efforts to reinvigorate the opposition, as this is rooted in her personal advocacy of truth, justice, rule of law, democracy, and national sovereignty.
I thank God for setting free my esteemed friend, Secretary Leila de Lima. May her tribe increase!
Though it took so long, I never lost faith. Counting all those years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds – and reckoning all the important milestones I had missed, I was sustained by my faith: I believed, I prayed; the day of my freedom would come.