Press Release
October 10, 2016

De Lima thanks civil society groups for outpouring of support

Sen. Leila M. de Lima today expressed her gratitude to the overwhelming support of several individuals and various groups for her firm determination in finding out the truth behind the unabated spate of unresolved and drug-related killings in the country.

De Lima said she is elated for the outpouring of public support she has been receiving since she has initiated the Senate investigation into the spate of extrajudicial killings and summary executions on the government's all-out campaign against drugs.

"I am deeply moved by the outpouring of love and support from many sectors. Their words are more than enough to encourage me to keep on fighting for the values and principles we all share together," she said.

Various women's organizations, human rights advocates and members of the academe and civil society groups have earlier issued separate statements of support for the Senator's advocacy, notably against the now-foiled attempt by some members of the House of Representatives to show an alleged sex video between her and her alleged lover.

They have also expressed indignation at how the Senator was removed as chairperson of the Senate justice and human rights committee and the subsequent harsh treatment she has received from her colleagues at the Senate.

"When we allow such indignity and disrepute to be visited upon a fellow human being, we, as a people, also lose our dignity and capacity for benevolence," The Outstanding Women in National Service (TOWNS) said in an official statement.

"While we support efforts of government to reduce criminality and violence, these should be done following due process, and the rule of law," the St. Scholastica's College of Manila said in a statement last Oct. 6.

The Senator, who has been invited for dialogues on human rights and democracy, noted the growing awareness among members of the academe about the need to observe due process in the implementation of the government's all-out war against illegal drugs.

"Many young people are very much interested with the current events. They know it (EJKs) is wrong; they too are agitated with it," de Lima said in an interview after the Thanksgiving Mass for Truth and Justice at La Salle, Greenhills, San Juan, last Oct. 8.

"As I said in my speech in Adamson University, this (dialogue) is the fight for the future and for the moral fiber of our people and our future generations," she reiterated.

De Lima, a staunch human rights advocate, also noted that the expression of love and support coming from various sectors of the civil society has given her strength to fight off the baseless accusations and manufactured evidence thrown against her.

"Seeing all of you today, I don't feel frustrated and exasperated any longer. But I'm still angry. Enraged. More than enraged. I am enraged by their gross violation of my rights, by their continuing relentless lies and deceptions. But now, most of all, I feel strong, stronger than ever," she said.

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