Leila de Lima: After Duterte's arrest, the Philippines must recover its soul
The former Minister of Justice was unjustly detained for 2,454 days for her opposition to the former president's drug war methods. The families of the victims had hoped for a mandate from the International Criminal Court. Today Duterte supporters are rallying to mark his 80th birthday. In The Hague, his trial’s preliminary hearing is set for 23 September. Speaking in Rome at the conference for the 150th anniversary of the Congregation of the Divine Word, de Lima urged those who tolerated and favoured killings to seek healing.
Rome (AsiaNews) – The arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on 11 March on charges of crimes against humanity for his heinous "war on drugs" and his transfer to The Hague for trial mark the “triumph of justice and accountability,” a development to be followed with “cautious optimism,” this according to former Philippine Senator Leila de Lima who spoke to AsiaNews yesterday.
A former Minister of Justice, the 65-year-old spent six years and eight months in “preventive detention" without any real evidence against her; charges of involvement in drug trafficking became a symbol of the abuses committed by the Duterte presidency against opponents.
Leila de Lima answered our questions on the sidelines of the “Missio Dei in today's world”, an international conference currently underway in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University to mark the 150th anniversary of the Congregation of the Divine Word.
“We cannot afford to be complacent and not monitor developments,” she told us in response to a question about the ongoing proceedings against Duterte in The Hague. “The families of the victims of summary executions are already pinning their hopes on the International Criminal Court, since they did not see justice guaranteed by our own institutions.”
Rodrigo Duterte, who turned 80 in prison today, was arrested on his way back to the Philippines from Hong Kong. “We prayed for this,” said Leila de Lima, one of the greatest critics of the former mayor of Davao and his "death squads", responsible for the extrajudicial killing of about 30,000 Filipinos, from 2016 to 2022, according to estimates by human rights organisations.
“In reality, we expected the warrant already last year, knowing that the investigations were being concluded. It all happened suddenly. I've been hoping for this for a long time, but the whole thing still seems surreal.”
A former Minister of Justice during the presidency of Benigno Aquino Jr, Leila de Lima was detained for 2,454 days on charges of receiving bribes from drug lords. Only in November 2023, a year after Duterte left office, was she released on bail and she was finally cleared of all charges in June 2024.
In The Hague, Duterte’s preliminary hearing is set for 23 September. Until then, caution is necessary, despite a “certain euphoria” among the relatives of the victims.
“In the Philippines, the political situation is such that the families of the victims are hopeless, especially since Duterte still has considerable influence in many sectors of the country,” de Lima explained. “He remains very popular despite what he did and the allegations against him.”
Today, along with the former president's 80th birthday, many people are gathering to pray for him and his release. Rodrigo Duterte supporters among overseas Philippines also converged in The Hague, like on 14 March, for his first court appearance.
“These are crimes against humanity,” sighs Leila de Lima, bewildered by the persistence of these ties. “Not ordinary crimes, but crimes against humanity,” she repeats. Now we are in the phase of “confirmation of the accusations. We don't really know what will happen next,” she added. “Obviously, we hope that they will be confirmed, and that the trial will start.”
“When I was arrested, there was no one left to fight the 'war on drugs', apart from the Catholic Church. At its peak I could not join it in caring for the victims.”
This is Leila de Lima's greatest regret regarding her long imprisonment, during which she began her days by reading the Bible. She mentioned this yesterday during her impassioned speech at the Pontifical Gregorian University, speaking of the role of the Catholic Church in the years of Duterte's "crimes against humanity".
The former president did not spare even the clergy from attacks and intimidation, emerging as "the devil's spokesman on Earth", something far too many Christians who “applauded" him failed to see.
His election was interpreted as a "triumph over the Church. It was only a matter of time before some clergy would be killed. During Duterte's tenure, three priests died under mysterious circumstances,” she said.
Many men and women religious opposed the regime of violence openly promoted by the former president. Leila de Lima singled out Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, raised to the cardinalship by Pope Francis last December, who “gave asylum to children who had witnessed the murder of another teenager,” while the government threatened him with “obstruction of justice and even kidnapping.”
Card Luis Antonio Tagle also did not remain silent in the face of the killings. As archbishop of Manila, "he called on the murderers, especially those who cover their faces, to stop wasting human lives," the former senator said.
She cited Archbishop Socrates Buenaventura Villegas as well, who issued the "strongest statement ever made by a Church leader," urging Catholics to defend targeted people, and Fr Alberto Alejo, who offered “relief and shelter to war informers,” including Arturo Lascañas, chief of operations of the Davao death squad, “probably the most important witness against Duterte regarding a future trial at the International Criminal Court.”
Finally, Leila de Lima said that with Duterte’s recent arrest in Manila, the search for justice has been “partly satisfied,” but “there is still a lot to do, including compensation for the families of the victims.”
In any case, the march towards justice is moving "thanks above all to the commitment of clergymen, human rights activists and allies in the media.”
For de Lima, a decisive challenge now awaits Asia's largest Catholic nation, which from 2016 to 2022 "tolerated and facilitated killings,” that of “recovering its soul,” especially “after six years in which Christians (90 per cent of the population) turned against themselves because of Duterte's sweet but false promises.”
For her, it is essential to reaffirm the original Christian values to obtain full justice, which is more necessary than ever if the country wants to turn the page. “We must reach out to the lost sheep of our small country and bring them back to the fold of our faith. Only then can healing begin.”
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11/12/2023 18:37
24/11/2023 17:14
