Palace to ex-President Aquino: Leila de Lima in jail over drugs, not politics

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday reminded former president Benigno Aquino III that Sen. Leila de Lima is in jail because of drug-related charges and not because of her political beliefs.

Aquino recently praised De Lima for her leadership and convictions in the senator’s first electronic book entitled “Dispatches from Crame I.”

The former president lauded De Lima for “fighting for the Filipino people” and urged the public to support her in her struggle. 

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque refuted Aquino’s claims, saying De Lima’s detention at Camp Crame had nothing to do with her political views. 

“The lady senator was arrested and incarcerated because of serious drug charges where she was accused of allowing the illegal drug trade to proliferate inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) when she was the DOJ (Department of Justice) secretary,” Roque said. 

De Lima, a vocal critic of President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs, was arrested last year for allegedly accepting money from convicted drug lords and for giving them special privileges at the NBP. 

The senator denied the allegation and has accused the Duterte administration of persecuting her for opposing its policies.