Sen. Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Detained Senator Leila de Lima has admitted being in “deep sadness” as she would not be able to do, for the first time, her annual ritual during Lenten season.
“As Good Friday draws near, I’m engulfed with sadness, deep sadness,” De Lima wrote Wednesday from her detention at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Quezon City.
“Being lonely is something I’ve been avoiding since Day One of my detention. This time, it’s an uncontrollable emotion,” she said.
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The senator has been charged and detained for alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade when she was still Justice Secretary but she has repeatedly denied the allegation.
“For the first time in my life, I won’t be able to join the Good Friday procession in our home parish. I will not be there to touch the image of our dear AMA, the Santo Entierro, and say my most intimate prayer,” De Lima lamented.
“The mere thought of missing this annual spiritual experience, this lifetime “panata” of mine, produces a revolting emptiness inside me. It’s like being cast away in an abyss of despair,” she said.
She, however, remained hopeful that her “present state of pain and sorrow will turn into joy someday, in God’s appointed time.”
De Lima, who claimed to be a victim of persecution by the present administration, also continued to pray for justice. CBB