De Lima receives Prize for Freedom award

MANILA, Philippines — Detained Sen. Leila de Lima formally received her Prize for Freedom award from the Liberal International (LI) yesterday, making her the second Filipino to have been honored by the organization since it started in 1985.

De Lima’s eldest son Israel, her brothers Vicente “Vicboy” de Lima II and Vicente “Nonoy” de Lima Jr. and her sister Caroline de Lima accepted the award on her behalf in a ceremony held at the Novotel Hotel in Quezon City.

The Prize for Freedom is awarded annually by Liberal International to honor an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the advancement of human rights and political freedoms.

LI described De Lima as a “vocal critic of President Duterte’s so-called ‘war on drugs’ and a prisoner of conscience, Sen. Leila de Lima was one of the first to be targeted by the hard-line Duterte government for her outspoken criticism of the president’s targeted campaign of violence, which has left thousands of mostly poor Filipinos dead.”

LI was one of the first international organizations to campaign for De Lima’s release from detention and has taken the case to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

De Lima is the second Filipino to accept LI’s Human Rights Prize after the late President Corazon Aquino in 1987. Aquino was recognized “for her world-renowned advocacy of democracy, peace, and the empowerment of women.”