UN panel urges PHL gov’t to free De Lima

The United Nations Human Rights Council's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNHRC-WGAD) on Wednesday called on the government to release Senator Leila De Lima from jail and let her fulfill her duties as lawmaker and human rights advocate.

In a 13-page opinion paper, the UNHRC-WGAD stated that De Lima's detention is a violation of some of the provisions in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

"The Working Group considers that the deprivation of her liberty resulted from her personal conviction and public statements regarding extrajudicial killings in the Philippines and of the exercise of her right to take part in government and the conduct of public affairs under article 21 of the Universal Declaration and article 25 of the Covenant," the UNHRC-WGAD said.

It said the Duterte administration has shown "unfavorable intentions" toward the opposition senator, adding that De Lima's right to fair trial was violated.

The UNHRC-WGAD further claimed that the senator was subjected to trial by publicity during the hearing about the alleged drug trade within the premises of New Bilibid Prison during the time of De Lima as Justice Secretary.

"The Working Group emphasized that officers of the court and the law must 'conduct criminal investigations in an independent and impartial manner, and respect the presumption of innocence,'" the UNHRC-WGAD said.

The said Working Group also stated that De Lima’s deprivation of liberty has constituted “discrimination based on political or other opinion as well as her status as a human rights defender and as a woman."

De Lima has been detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame since February 24, 2017 over allegations that she was involved in the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison.

The UN panel also referred De Lima’s case to three separate UN Special Rapporteurs including the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.

The UN panel said it had transmitted the allegations against De Lima to the government and asked the latter for comments, however, the government has not replied yet.

"The Working Group regrets that it did not receive a response from the government to this communication and the government did not request an extension of the time limit for its reply, as provided for in the Working Group’s methods of work," the UNHRC-WGAD said. — RSJ, GMA News