De Lima receives 'love letters' from supporters, allies

Different organizations and personalities continue to send letters and messages of hope for Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima to convey their solidarity and love for her as she recently marked her fourth year in unjust detention last Feb. 24. To date, around 150 messages in the form of video and handwritten letters were already received by the Free Leila de Lima Movement (FLM), which initiated the project. FLM and the Senator's Official Facebook pages started releasing some of the letters and videos online, last Feb. 15.

Among the most notable are handwritten letters from members of Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Pamilyang Pantawid (SNPP) and e-mailed messages from a student of Ramon Magsaysay High School and former Senators Rene Saguisag and Kit Tatad.

"Let me start by thanking you for what you have done for your country. The bravery that you have shown will be an inspiration to your countrymen to continue fighting for what is right and just

"May you persistently wait for the freedom you deserv[e] and signify that law is the law and that we should respect it at all costs," high school student Zhyra Enaria's letter read.

Saguisag said De Lima's "moral stamina is fantastic," as he encouraged the lady Senator to "keep going."

Tatad, for his part, said that De Lima "has become a shining symbol and a sterling icon to many people" and that "she now represents not only an individual's courageous fight for dignity and freedom, but above all the Filipino nation's longing for genuine liberation from the yoke of official injustice and authoritarian rule." Vouching for De Lima's innocence, a handwritten letter from Nida Cainap of SNPP, partly read: "I pray Sen. Leila na lalaya po kayo dahil wala po kayong kasalanan. Pinag-initan lang kayo ng administrasyon ni Duterte dahil [m]ahal mo po ang taumbayan, at mahal din namin kayo."

Lolito San Diego of SNPP, meanwhile expressed her gratitude to the Senator, saying, "Sen. De Lima, maraming salamat po sa pagtulong mo sa amin upang maisabatas ang Pantawid (4Ps) na ito at naging matagumpay ang ating layunin at higit sa lahat sa iyo po Senator De Lima at sana maging matatag pa ka[yo] lagi para sa kinabukasan ng ating bansa."

Aside from members of SNPP, among those who sent their "love letters" to De Lima include Jayanthi Balaguru (Council of Asian Liberal Democrats), Dawda Kasu Jawara (Parliamentarians for Global Action, The Gambia), Julia Tetrault-Provencher (Parliamentarians for Global Action, The Hague), Margareta Cederfelt (Parliamentarians for Global Action, Sweden), to name a few.

Organizations such as AKBAYAN, Bunyog ng Pagkakaisa-Bacolod, HRonline, Task Force Detainees La Consolacion Convent, LP San Juan, Arya Progresibo, LP Manila Matatag Chapter, also sent their letters for the lady Senator.

Video messages were sent by personalities and organizations including, among others, Vice President Leni Robredo, Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin Drilon, Senators Risa Hontiveros and Kiko Pangilinan, Commission on Human Rights Chair Chito Gascon, Amnesty International and Amnesty International Partido ng Manggagawa.

Recently, over 300 leaders, parliamentarians, activists, and organizations from different parts of the world have decried the continued political persecution of De Lima through a Statement of Indignation.

In the said statement, the local and international leaders and groups called for the immediate release of De Lima and the dropping of all trumped-up drug charges filed against her by the vindictive Duterte regime.