Lagman joins call for De Lima’s immediate release

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman has joined the call of other lawmakers and opposition leaders for the immediate release of Senator Leila de Lima who marked her first year in detention on Friday.

“The denial of due process and the incarceration for partisan and vindictive motives of a citizen, like Sen. Leila de Lima, demean the Constitution and diminish the nation,” Lagman said in a statement.

“The longer the deprivation of freedom lasts, like one long solitary and degrading year, the more the infringement of the Constitution worsens, and the more the affront to the nation aggravates,” he added.

“I join the collective and incessant call for the immediate release and liberation of Senator Leila de Lima so that she could steadfastly pursue her advocacies without restraint, and fully discharge her duties as a duly elected Senator,” Lagman said.

De Lima, one of President Duterte’s most vocal critics, has been detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center after she was accused of benefitting from the illegal drug business in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) during her time as justice secretary.

The former Human Rights Commission chair is also a staunch critic of the administration’s war on illegal drugs./muf/au