De Lima spent five years of her six years in jail without trial and is considered by advocates and activists to be the country’s most prominent political prisoner. She was a rare outspoken critic of Duterte, and in 2018, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded her detention was arbitrary and without legal basis.
Her release is seen as a victory for a weakened Philippine opposition. It is also expected to allow de Lima to campaign more actively for a case against Duterte at the International Criminal Court, which is investigating him for possible crimes against humanity.
De Lima, the former justice secretary, was jailed in 2017, after initiating a Senate probe into Duterte’s war on drugs, which has left tens of thousands dead. She had gone head to head with Duterte in the past when, as human rights commissioner, she investigated extrajudicial killings in Davao City, where Duterte was mayor for two decades.
A relentless smear campaign against her followed. Her personal phone number and address were leaked in a congressional hearing, resulting in harassment. Duterte also claimed she had been involved in a sex tape, and he once said he would show it to the pope.
Five witnesses have recanted their testimonies in the drug case against de Lima in the past two years, lending credibility to her defense. Her supporters are hopeful the case will end in acquittal.
Her release was widely welcomed by her political allies, diplomats and human rights advocates. “We have waited a long time for this day, believing that what is right and true will always prevail,” said Leni Robredo, the opposition leader under whose ticket de Lima unsuccessfully ran for reelection from prison in 2022.
Amnesty International also called on the Marcos administration to ensure her safety. “The government must now guarantee her safety, security and protection as she remains the target of vilification and threats,” it said in a statement.
Marcos, the late dictator’s son who won in a landslide election last year, differentiated himself from his tough-talking predecessor, Duterte, with a foreign policy shift favoring the United States and an openness to discussing human rights. Police and vigilante killings continue, though, and watchdogs have urged Marcos to act on them.
Arjan Aguirre, an assistant professor at Ateneo de Manila University’s political science department, said de Lima’s release points to a fissure in the Marcos-Duterte alliance.
“It’s indicative of ongoing tension … between the two [political] dynasties,” Aguirre said. Marcos won the presidency with Duterte’s daughter Sara as his running mate.
De Lima’s release comes on the heels of events in Congress that some see as indicative of the former president’s waning influence in national politics. Duterte slammed the House of Representatives, led by Marcos’s cousin Martin Romualdez, after it stripped Sara Duterte of controversial confidential funds in the budget for her office.
Although the president’s sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, expressed continued support for the Dutertes, Aguirre said government support for the International Criminal Court investigation is possible.
