Group calls for release of other political prisoners after De Lima freed on bail

MANILA, Philippines — The release of former Sen. Leila de Lima on bail should open the doors for the release of other prisoners facing political persecution, an organization said Tuesday. 

De Lima, a fierce critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte, was granted release on bail by a Muntinlupa court after nearly seven years of detention for drug charges that she and human rights organizations have long maintained were fabricated and politically motivated. 

KAPATID, a support group formed by relatives and friends of political prisoners, said the development should pave the way for the release of other political prisoners. 

“There are 777 more political prisoners who likewise face utterly baseless charges like illegal possession of firearms and explosives that were in fact planted to deny them the right to bail,” KAPATID spokesperson Fides Lim said. 

Lim cited the case of her husband, activist and National Democratic Front consultant Vicente Lalad, along with Alberto and Virginia Villamor, who marked their fifth year of what she called “unjust detention.” They were arrested in November 2018 for alleged illegal possession of firearms.

“They don’t belong in prison, but those who put them there do,” she said. 

KAPATID called on the Department of Justice to refrain from becoming an “instrument of political persecution” by fabricating cases against activists and government critics. 

Former Senate president and Justice secretary Franklin Drilon said that former Justice chief Vitaliamo Aguirre could be held accountable for the crime of subornation of perjury. 

Former Bureau of Corrections chief Rafael Ragos claimed that he was coerced into signing affidavits prepared by Aguirre accusing De Lima of receiving bribes from drug lords at the New Bilibid Prison. 

De Lima had been acquitted of two out of the three charges against her.