Opposition Senator Leila de Lima on Friday, June 3 thanked Senator Grace Poe for openly speaking up and expressing her solidarity with her by raising awareness about her continued unjust detention.
De Lima said she was “deeply touched” by Poe’s kind words for her during the latter’s farewell speech for all outgoing senators of the 18th Congress last May 31.
“Thank you (Sen. Grace Poe) for openly recognizing the injustice that has befallen me,” De Lima said in a handwritten letter to Poe.
Poe, in her speech last Wednesday, paid tribute to eight outgoing senators, including de Lima, saying: “All of the eight, every one of them, will leave a void in this chamber as big as the one in my heart.”
Poe lauded “the lady behind bars, but who keeps on fighting the good fight,” saying the senator is “unbroken, but her incarceration is proof that our justice system is broken.
De Lima said she will miss the Senate but ensure that she will continue working for her advocacies even as a private citizen.
“Indeed, departures always leave an irreplaceable void. I will miss the Senate and will always remain amazed by the magnitude of our duty and grateful for the opportunity to have served, albeit under a less than ideal environment given my situation,” de Lima said.
“But this is not goodbye, Sen. Grace. Tuloy ang laban natin para sa katotohanan at hustisya (The fight for truth and justice will continue). I look forward to continue working with you on our shared causes,” she told the lawmaker.
De Lima ran for reelection in the last May 9, 2022 polls under the banner of Vice President Leni Robredo but lost in her bid.
The senator, a vocal critic of the Duterte administration, has been incarcerated since 2017 over allegations of being involved in the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) and has repeatedly refuted the accusations against her.
Recently, at least four key witnesses who implicated the senator on illegal drug activities inside the NBP, have recanted their statements.