CALD Resolution No. 1, S. 2022

We, the member-parties of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD):

Recognizing that Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, one of the staunchest critics of President Rodrigo Duterte, has been in detention for more than five years now on multiple drug cases which are widely perceived as fabricated and politically motivated;

Noting that Senator de Lima was originally charged with three counts of conspiracy to engage in the drug trade, but was acquitted of one count in February 2021, while the other two remain on trial;

Highlighting that on 28 April 2022, Roland Kerwin Espinosa, a self-confessed drug dealer turned prosecution witness, recanted his allegations against Senator de Lima saying that he “has been misled” by the police into signing a statement against the lawmaker in exchange for the dropping of the charges against him;

Recalling that on 30 April 2022, former Bureau of Corrections officer in-charge Rafael Ragos, a prosecution star witness in one of the two pending cases, executed an affidavit retracting his statements against Senator de Lima and accusing former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, together with other officials of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of coercing him into testifying against the senator;

Underscoring that on 13 May 2022, Ronnie Dayan, a former aide of Senator de Lima, also recanted the testimonies he made before the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, saying that then chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Justice, Rep. Rey Umali, coerced him to testify against the senator during the 2016 congressional inquiries into the illegal drug trade at the national penitentiary;

Recalling that in September 2020, another DOJ witness, Artemio Baculi Jr., financial investigator of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, stated that his investigations show that Senator de Lima has no link with the drug trade;

Recognizing that the case of Senator de Lima proved that the Philippine legal system can be used against government critics, and that the charges against her are nothing but a product of a long-standing conspiracy involving high government officials from the legislative and executive branches to silence and intimidate her; and

Recalling that CALD, in the past five years, has issued a number of resolutions and statements calling for the dismissal of the trumped-up charges  against Senator de Lima and her immediate and unconditional  release.

Do hereby agree to:

Implore the Philippine DOJ to drop all remaining charges against Senator de Lima, given that the recent recantations of prosecution witnesses show that the lawmaker is just a victim of the Duterte administration’s vindictiveness;

Urge the DOJ and the Office of the Ombudsman to launch an independent, impartial investigation and bring to justice those responsible for the frame-up of Senator de Lima;

Appeal to the international community to continue to put pressure on the Philippine government, including the incoming administration, to release Senator de Lima; and

Uphold and defend the rule of law and democratic values, especially in the face of intensifying threats to freedom in the Philippines and in other parts of Asia.

For the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats:

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan

Chairperson

18 May 2022