{"id":123102,"date":"2017-10-11T22:45:56","date_gmt":"2017-10-12T02:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=123102"},"modified":"2017-10-11T22:45:56","modified_gmt":"2017-10-12T02:45:56","slug":"sad-and-pained-de-lima-to-appeal-courts-decision-on-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/10\/11\/sad-and-pained-de-lima-to-appeal-courts-decision-on-arrest\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Sad and pained\u2019 De Lima to appeal court\u2019s decision on arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"FILE:<\/a>
FILE: De Lima, who is facing three criminal charges for allegedly receiving kickbacks from New Bilibid Prison drug lords during her term as the justice secretary, is currently detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center inside Camp Crame in Quezon City. (PRIB Photo by Joseph Vidal\/Senate of the Philippines on Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Detained Senator Leila De Lima on Wednesday said she is \u201csaddened and pained\u201d by the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) junking her petition to recall the arrest warrant issued against her, saying the ruling \u201clegitimizes oppression and political persecution\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply saddened and pained by the Supreme Court decision dismissing my petition. I had hoped that the justices who decided against my petition can feel the pain of someone who is sent to prison and yet is innocent of any crime, and has merely fallen victim to the strong arm of the State and the President’s deeply-rooted vengeance against her,\u201d De Lima said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SC’s majority decision tells us the extent to which Dutertism has distorted reason, suppressed the truth and rejected the primacy of conscience,\u201d De Lima added.<\/p>\n

Voting 9-6, the high court on Tuesday ruled to scrap the senator\u2019s gesture to recall her arrest warrant issued by the Muntinlupa Regional Court.<\/p>\n

[Read: SC dismisses De Lima\u2019s plea to recall arrest warrant<\/a>]<\/p>\n

De Lima, who is facing three criminal charges for allegedly receiving kickbacks from New Bilibid Prison drug lords during her term as the justice secretary, is currently detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center inside Camp Crame in Quezon City.<\/p>\n

The embattled senator said she will appeal the court ruling and her lawyers will file a motion for reconsideration.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy lawyers will of course file a motion for reconsideration, and will continue to appeal to the sense of fairness and justice of the Court\u2026 There is no other recourse but to go on fighting, especially when one is innocent as I truly am. Every day spent behind bars on bogus charges brings pain and untold sufferings. But it also strengthens resolve,\u201d De Lima said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single moment in prison serves as a reminder to me of the injustice being committed on thousands of others out there who are not only deprived of their liberty, but of their very right to exist. To go on fighting is the least I can do for them and their loved ones,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch (HRW), an international human rights advocate group, slammed the decision of the court, saying \u201cDe Lima\u2019s arrest followed a relentless government campaign of harassment and intimidation against her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday dashed hopes it would overturn the politically motivated prosecution of the highest-profile critic of President Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s murderous \u201cwar on drugs,\u201d HRW Asia Division Researcher Carlos Conde said in a dispatch.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuterte and his government have systematically sought to vilify, harass, and intimidate those who have pursued accountability for drug war crimes domestically and internationally,\u201d Conde added.<\/p>\n

Conde then urged concerned governments to end the deadly drug war, to \u201cpublicly express their outrage at de Lima\u2019s prosecution, and support a UN-led international investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDe Lima\u2019s prosecution is a warning to all critics of Duterte\u2019s \u201cdrug war\u201d that demanding accountability for victims may spark vicious official reprisals,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

At the end of the statement,\u00a0De Lima expressed gratitude to the six justices who opposed the court decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take heart though in the thought that six (6) dissenters – all venerable magistrates – stood their ground. I honor them with a profound thanks and admiration for their courage and fealty to their sworn duty,\u201d De Lima said.<\/p>\n

Those who voted to grant\u00a0the senator’s plea were Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justices Estela Perlas- Bernabe, Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, and Francis Jardeleza.<\/p>\n

The senator also asked for continued prayers and support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ask only for more fortitude for myself and for my family,\u201d De Lima said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI humbly ask for continued prayers and support,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Detained Senator Leila De Lima on Wednesday said she is \u201csaddened and pained\u201d by the decision of the Supreme Court …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":90198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[27302,12364,15180,1144],"class_list":["post-123102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","tag-carlos-conde","tag-human-rights-watch","tag-senator-leila-de-lima","tag-supreme-court","mauthors-carlo-jacob-molina","mauthors-philippine-canadian-inquirer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}