Former senator Leila de Lima (Arnold Quizol/ MANILA BULLETIN)

House of Representatives members, particularly those from the minority, have welcomed a Muntinlupa City court's decision to grant bail to former senator Leila de Lima after over six years in detention. 

De Lima, a member of the Liberal Party (LP), is set to be released from the Philippine National Police (PNP) custodial center. 

"Although justice delayed is justice denied, justice finally secured is still justice redeemed," LP President Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman said in a statement Monday afternoon, Nov. 13.

"This is the essence of Senator Leila de Lima’s belated grant of bail which is a prelude to her exoneration in all of the three feigned drug charges against her," said Lagman, a self-styled independent minority solon. 

He said that De Lima has been incarcerated since Feb. 24, 2017, or 2,453 days ago. 

Lagman said the decision of the Muntinlupa court was a step toward justice and freedom for De Lima, whose "harsh indictment of those who falsely accused her of wrongdoing and caused her years of unimaginable suffering in solitary confinement and the indescribable anguish of the malevolently accused".

"I laud [De Lima] for her fortitude and indomitable spirit for fighting for her liberty without accepting the authority’s condescending offer of hospital or house arrest.

"Moreover, I also salute her supreme sacrifice and steadfast advocacy for all the victims of injustice and oppression, and also for Filipinos whose freedoms are trampled on by the brokers of power," Lagman said of his party-mate.

Meanwhile, House Deputy Minority leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro echoed Lagman's sentiment. 

"The granting of bail to former Sen. Leila de Lima was long overdue but a welcome news nonetheless," she said in a separate statement Monday. 

"Her long detention was an injustice and we hope that those behind her unjust incarceration would be the ones who would be jailed in the near future," said Castro, who belongs to the Makabayan bloc. 

Another Makabayan solon, Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, said in a separate statement: "We welcome the recent decision of the court to grant bail to former Senator Leila de Lima, recognizing it as a long overdue and essential step towards justice." 

"Moreover, we firmly believe that the charges against Senator De Lima are politically motivated, serving as a means to silence her staunch criticism of President Duterte's drug war and her unwavering commitment to investigating extrajudicial killings and seeking accountability for human rights abuses," she said. 

"The fight for justice does not end here. We must hold accountable those responsible for her unjust incarceration and the trumped-up charges against her," Brosas added.

De Lima’s bail was set at P300,000