#18 Leila De Lima

Leila Norma Eulalia Josefa Magistrado de Lima (born on August 27, 1959 in Iriga City, Camarines Sur) is a lawyer and politician. She was elected as a senator in 2016, serving until June 30, 2022.

In 2008, De Lima was appointed chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, holding the position for two years. She served as justice secretary under the administration of late former president Benigno Aquino III.

De Lima is the most prominent political prisoner of the Duterte administration. She has spent over four years of her term detained over alleged drug charges. Prior to her arrest, she was vocal critic of Duterte’s war on drugs and extrajudicial killings in the country.

While detained, De Lima continues to advocate for human rights and social justice in the Senate, and speak out on injustices and abuses of the Duterte administration through Senate resolutions and handwritten dispatches. | Rappler

Issues and Stands

Safe re-opening of schools and transition to face-to-face classes

Ensure that quality internet is available to students and work to provide subsidies to ensure they can keep up in their classes (i.e., load or laptop subsidies)

Integrate Human Rights and Peace Education into basic and secondary education curriculum

Junking of Anti-Terror Law

Demand that campaigns declare online campaign expenditures beyond their official social media accounts (i.e., influencers engaged, unofficial groups or pages tapped, etc.)

Increased participation of the youth in local and national governance by allowing them to influence & craft legislation

Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and support their increased participation in cultural spaces

Legalization of Divorce

Increase national minimum wage to P750

Increase budget for farming and fishing support/infrastructure

Enact the right to an adequate food bill or the Zero Hunger Bill

Continue support for the rice tariffication law

Seeking climate change accountability from better developed, high-pollutant countries

Increase financial and technical support for local climate adaptation and mitigation projects

Support for Open Pit Mining

Pass an Alternative Mining Act in accordance with human rights norms, standards, and obligations

Increase funding for mental health support

Decriminalizing Abortion

Reparations for Martial Law Victims & Retrieval of Marcos’ Ill-gotten Wealth

Criminalizing of Vote-buying