UN experts urge release of De Lima anew, express grave disappointment over denied bail

MANILA, Philippines — United Nations (UN) experts renewed their call for the immediate release of former Sen. Leila de Lima, expressing "grave disappointment" after a court denied her petition for bail.

De Lima, one of the most outspoken critics of former president Rodrigo Duterte and his deadly anti-drug war, has been in prison for more than six years on narcotics-related charges.

UN experts also urged the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to bring an end to De Lima's case.

“We have long called for the immediate release of Leila de Lima,” the experts said in a statement released on Friday. 

“The decision to deny bail comes after more than six years of arbitrary detention. It is high time for the administration of President Marcos Jr. to close this case once and for all, provide compensation and other reparations, and investigate the circumstances that allowed this to happen in the first place,” they added.

Earlier this month, the Muntinlupa regional trial court denied De Lima's petition for bail in relation to the remaining drug charge, along with six others. The court resolved the bail petition filed by De Lima and co-accused Joenel Sanchez, Franklin Bucayu, Ronnie Dayan and Jad Dera.

While her two other drug charges were already dismissed, De Lima's legal team has filed a motion for consideration regarding her bail this week.

With this denial from the Muntinlupa court, De Lima will remain in detention during the trial of her last drug case.

The UN experts' statement also referenced a 2018 opinion by the UN Working Group, which found De Lima's detention to be a result of her "exercise of the right to political participation, freedom of opinion and expression, thought and conscience, and was imposed through a process that did not respect the basic guarantees of a fair trial."

Since Marcos came into office in June last year, there have been renewed calls from human rights groups, foreign diplomats and politicians for De Lima's release. — with a report from Kristine Joy Patag