Determined to show a fighter’s resolve to the political persecution that she is facing almost every day, Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has admitted that her strong stance makes her present predicament more perilous and risky.
In her last Sunday’s reflections, De Lima, said her decision to continue standing up against her persecutors and detractors and speaking out against human rights abuses makes her situation more dangerous and more vulnerable to attacks.
“As someone has postulated, to dare greatly is to be vulnerable,” De Lima wrote in her recent Dispatch from Crame No. 695.
“Yes, I live in the space of vulnerability. I allow myself to be vulnerable to vile attacks and relentless demonization and persecution because I dare my oppressors greatly. I take risks and brassily put myself on the line of fire,” she added.
De Lima, however, stressed that she refuses to be cowed by her critics because of her firm belief in her innocence and in the causes that she is fighting for, notably for human rights, rule of law and democracy.
“(It is) perilous yet liberating. And I don’t mind being vulnerable because of my absolute confidence in my innocence and the merit of my causes,” the lady Senator from Bicol said.
“There’s no turning back for me. I’m going to stand in faith even if I have to stand my whole lifetime,” she added.
Despite being detained for almost three years now due to politically motivated and trumped-up charges based on perjured testimonies of convict-witnesses, De Lima has continued to speak out against Duterte’s corrupt and brutal policies.
As of this writing, the lady Senator has handwritten 696 Dispatches from Crame, or short statements covering a spectrum of topics, ranging from national issues and the current political climate to personal reflections and observations.
Even though deprived of work-related tools and gadgets in detention, De Lima has continued to exercise her mandate by authoring 145 bills and 163 resolutions during the 17th Congress and 55 bills and 27 resolutions, so far, in the current 18th Congress.