Senator Risa Hontiveros believes the recent release of former senator Leila de Lima from detention after nearly seven years would greatly encourage the fledgling political opposition.
In an episode of The Mangahas Interviews on Saturday, Hontiveros, one of the two opposition lawmakers in the Senate, said that de Lima’s freedom would result in more powerful moves not just for the opposition, but for the whole nation.
“Pagkatapos ng anim na mapait na taon ng pagkakulong, pambihira talaga, her spirit remains unbowed. At ‘yung diwa niyang iyon ni Leila, siguradong mas lalong mai-infuse ng lakas at pagiging positibo kaming lahat sa opposition,” Hontiveros said.
(After six years of imprisonment, it’s incredible that her spirit remains unbowed. And Leila’s spirit of Leila will definitely infuse all of us in the opposition with more strength and positivity.)
“Siguradong makatutulong na ngayon malapit na siyang maging ganap na malaya, at ‘yan ay siguradong makakapagpasigla lalo sa amin sa opposition,” she added.
(It will surely help now that she will be completely free soon, and that will surely encourage people, especially to us in the opposition.)
De Lima earlier said that she remains with the opposition, and that the former Justice secretary and lawyer would work on her “complete vindication.”
Former Vice President Leni Robredo also met up with the former senator in Naga, Camarines Sur on Thursday.
In a statement, Robredo stated that de Lima’s release was the prevailing of justice and a long-awaited win for de Lima and the country.
“Through all these years, Sen. Leila has been a source of inspiration for us. Her courage and her faith lent so many of us the resolve to continue fighting the good fight, to speak truth to power, and to keep believing that the Filipino people deserve so much more,” she said.
De Lima, a vocal critic of the Duterte administration, was released from the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City on Monday night after posting bail.
