Gabriela pushed for the immediate release of former Senator Leila De Lima following the Office of the Ombudsman’s dismissal of the bribery case against her and her former aide Ronnie Dayan.
“De Lima is a human rights advocate, one of those who dared to fight the Duterte Administration’s extra-judicial killings termed as War on Drugs. Just like the other human rights advocates and activists who opposed Duterte’s draconian rule, De Lima remains in jail and faces multiple fabricated cases,” said Gabriela in a press statement issued on Friday, Aug. 13.
De Lima was accused of being involved in a drug trade and was arrested in 2017. The Office of the Ombudsman, however, cleared her bribery case in a resolution dated Jan. 9, released on Tuesday, Aug. 9, saying it found no probable cause to charge De Lima for bribery.
Following the release of this resolution, various groups called on the release of former Senator and ex-Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary De Lima, including the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) who stated that further delay in the resolution of the criminal charges against her is considered a “violation of her rights.”
Gabriela, on the other hand, stood their ground, reiterating that De Lima should be freed after “years of unjust incarceration.”
“Gabriela also calls for an end to the continuous attack on all human rights defenders and to free all women political prisoners,” it furthered.