Leila de Lima

thumb|right|Official portrait, 2025 Leila Norma Eulalia Josefa Magistrado de Lima (born August 27, 1959) is a Filipino politician, lawyer, human rights activist and law professor who has served as the representative for Mamamayang Liberal, the sectoral wing of the Liberal Party, since 2025. De Lima previously served as a senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022 and as secretary of justice from 2010 to 2015. Quotes They destroyed my life. That’s why I’m going to rebuild my life now. They destroyed or ruined my name, my reputation. Now that I’m free, I’m going to work hard to redeem my name, and complete vindication is the key. https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/tell-it-to-sunstar-de-lima-justice-vindication-and-forgiveness#google_vignette You failed to break me. I’m still standing, standing firm. I hope you will realize that what you did to me was a big mistake. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/leila-de-lima-duterte-you-failed-to-break-me-still-standing/ While I know that I am a strong person, I never realized that I could still turn out to be stronger. https://verafiles.org/articles/seven-years-in-prison-i-needed-to-survive-de-lima I really needed to do the daily routines to keep me strong and hindi ako mawalan ng pag-asa (for me not to lose hope). I needed to survive this. https://verafiles.org/articles/seven-years-in-prison-i-needed-to-survive-de-lima Would people still remember me? https://verafiles.org/articles/seven-years-in-prison-i-needed-to-survive-de-lima This is not about vengeance. This is about justice finally taking its course. https://globalnation.inquirer.net/266818/de-lima-duterte-answers-to-a-world-that-refuses-to-forget This is how justice should work—those in power must be held to the same standards as everyone else, https://globalnation.inquirer.net/266818/de-lima-duterte-answers-to-a-world-that-refuses-to-forget Poetic justice and also vindication How de Lima sees her possible return to congress. https://www.inquirer.net/443685/how-de-lima-sees-her-possible-return-to-congress-poetic-justice-vindication/ Today, more than ever, I am convinced that I did the right thing of sacrificing my personal liberty and even my political career. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/de-lima-statement-6th-year-detention-2023/ I will stand my ground. For when they come after me and try to silence me, they are actually coming after those who cannot speak for themselves and defend themselves. I cannot, in good conscience, let that happen. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/de-lima-statement-6th-year-detention-2023/ You can never crucify Truth. You cannot permanently stall Justice. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1768601/to-my-oppressors-you-can-never-crucify-truth No high concrete walls, barbed wires, or caged environment can silence me. I remain free in spirit and unbroken. I’m not giving up on my causes for truth, justice and human rights. https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/379537/letters-from-leila-de-lima/ Their perpetual innocence and purity in spirit insulate them from the cruelty and irrationality of humankind. de Lima's 2017 message to her special son Israel and her 10-year-old grandson Brandon, both of whom she considers especially blessed for having a world of their own https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/379537/letters-from-leila-de-lima/ I’m no longer in a hurry. I don’t rush anymore. On having the luxury of time in detention, something she never had enough of as a public official https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/379537/letters-from-leila-de-lima/ It lies in the pen I hold in my hands. de Lima affirms where her true freedom lies on her second anniversary in detention https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/379537/letters-from-leila-de-lima/ You have hurdled your law studies under challenging circumstances—as a family man, as a father to two very young children, the elder of whom has autism, as a very patient and loving younger brother to a special brother… the silently suffering son to a controversial mother, who is now a victim of persecution. de Lima writes to her younger son, not having been allowed to attend Vincent Joshua graduation from law school. https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/379537/letters-from-leila-de-lima/ Democracy is the power of choice; and that power belongs to the Filipino people. The true value of that power of choice is its ability to address and solve the real conditions, problems and challenges that are facing our people. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/01/24/1665150/full-text-de-limas-privilege-speech-rise-fake-news's Every lie, every piece of fake news, every form of propaganda that is manufactured and shared by people is like a disease or a poison that will kill everything that is good and just about our beautiful nation. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/01/24/1665150/full-text-de-limas-privilege-speech-rise-fake-news Blood money is what that is. Some people might not think that there is anything wrong about making money by making up stories, but they cannot be more wrong. On people getting paid to troll and to spread discord. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/01/24/1665150/full-text-de-limas-privilege-speech-rise-fake-news Nations are weakened by false information. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/01/24/1665150/full-text-de-limas-privilege-speech-rise-fake-news Remember, fake news is like a drug: it makes you feel good by making you see or hear things that you badly want to believe are real; but, in reality, it is a form of poison that will destroy from within. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/01/24/1665150/full-text-de-limas-privilege-speech-rise-fake-news It doesn’t end with one campaign. But this win—this hard-earned, against-the-odds win—proves that even in a system built to discourage idealism, idealism can still break through, https://mb.com.ph/2025/05/13/de-lima-says-ml-partylist-win-proves-idealism-can-still-breakthrough-amid-odds We made space where there was none. We proved that truth, even when battered, can still make its way forward https://mb.com.ph/2025/05/13/de-lima-says-ml-partylist-win-proves-idealism-can-still-breakthrough-amid-odds But it had something more powerful—people like you On recognizing that their campaign was not easy https://mb.com.ph/2025/05/13/de-lima-says-ml-partylist-win-proves-idealism-can-still-breakthrough-amid-odds I lost my freedom, but I held on to my voice, https://mb.com.ph/2025/05/13/de-lima-says-ml-partylist-win-proves-idealism-can-still-breakthrough-amid-odds Irresponsibility must not become a culture. https://manilastandard.net/news/314645435/de-lima-joins-to-call-for-the-end-of-corruption.html Hold accountable those who must be held accountable no matter how high the power so that corruption, violence and poverty no longer become a cycle in our country. https://manilastandard.net/news/314645435/de-lima-joins-to-call-for-the-end-of-corruption.html I am a symbol of past injustice, hoping for a future where accountability reigns. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/leila-de-lima-free-woman-who-will-not-forget-her-causes/ External links Category:1959 births De Lima, Leila De Lima, Leila