Leila de Lima

Leila Norma Eulalia Josefa Magistrado de Lima (born August 27, 1959) is a Filipina politician, lawyer, human rights activist and law professor who previously served as a Senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.

She graduated in 1980 from the De La Salle University with an AB History and Political Science degree.

She finished her Bachelor of Laws (Salutatorian) degree at the San Beda College of Law in 1985.

She placed 8th in the 1985 Philippine Bar Examinations with an 86.26% bar rating.

De Lima began her career as a staff member of Supreme Court Associate Justice Isagani Cruz from 1986 to 1989.

She also taught law at San Beda College of Law from 1986 to 1994 and from 2006 to 2007 and worked as secretary of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal from 1993 to 1995.

She subsequently entered private practice in the 1990s, specializing in election law.

She was the chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights from 2008 to 2010, before serving in President Benigno Aquino III's cabinet as Secretary of Justice from 2010 to 2015.

Leila de Lima was appointed as the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights under the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, serving from 2008 to 2010.

Her two-year term was marked by high-profile cases such as the Davao Death Squad, human rights cases against general Jovito Palparan, and the Maguindanao massacre in 2009.

In 2010, President Benigno Aquino III offered her the position of Justice secretary, for which she accepted.

Her first high-profile case was the Manila hostage crisis, where eight Hong Kong nationals were killed.

She finished 12th, after amassing more than 14 million votes.

De Lima condemned the Philippine Drug War and urged Congress to investigate.

She called for an end to vigilante killings of drug suspects.

On her privilege speech at the Senate on August 2, she noted that "we cannot wage the war against drugs with blood..."

De Lima lamented the indifference of President Rodrigo Duterte's government to extrajudicial killings and warned that more innocent people will suffer if the killings fail to stop.

In 2022, de Lima ran for reelection as senator under the Liberal Party, but lost after placing in 23rd position.

During the 2015 Iglesia ni Cristo leadership controversy and its subsequent protests, de Lima was criticized for meddling in the internal affairs of the denomination.

Leila de Lima ran as a senatorial candidate for the 2016 general elections under the Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid of the Liberal Party.

On August 17, 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte alleged that de Lima was having an affair with her driver, Ronnie Dayan, who Duterte also alleged functioned as de Lima's collector for drug protection money when she was Justice secretary.

Duterte also alleged that Dayan had been using drugs.

Duterte later claimed that he had in his possession wiretaps and ATM records which confirmed his allegations which he had received from an unnamed foreign country.

In September 2016, de Lima was removed as chair of the Senate Justice and Human Rights committee investigating extrajudicial killings.

She later admitted that she had a relationship with Dayan many years ago.

Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre called on convicted drug lords, former prison officials and police officers as prime witnesses against de Lima in a congressional probe on illegal drug trafficking in the New Bilibid Prison.

Dayan went into hiding after being advised by de Lima to not attend the House probe, but was captured days later.

Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa corroborated allegations that de Lima benefited from the illegal drug activities of his son Kerwin Espinosa in Eastern Visayas.

Included in the Mayor's affidavit is a picture of de Lima with Kerwin Espinosa in Baguio City.

Kerwin Espinosa later testified that he gave her a total of ₱8 million to help finance her senatorial campaign in 2016.

Known as a vocal critic of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, she was arrested in 2017 under charges linked to the New Bilibid Prison drug trafficking scandal during her term as Justice Secretary.

Later that year, she was awarded the Prize for Freedom by the Liberal International.

She was held in pretrial detention until November 13, 2023, although she served out her remaining term as senator and filed legislation while held.

De Lima is the eldest daughter of former Philippine Commission on Elections commissioner Vicente de Lima and Norma Magistrado.

She was born and raised in Iriga, Camarines Sur in Bicol.

De Lima completed her basic education at La Consolacion Academy (now La Consolacion College Iriga), graduating as class valedictorian.

On July 19, 2019, the PNP–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed charges against de Lima and other members of the opposition for "sedition, cyber libel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice".

On February 10, 2020, she was cleared of all charges.

In late April 2022, Kerwin Espinosa recanted his statements on the case, and said that he was coerced by the police after his father was killed in jail.

The Department of Justice downplayed his recantation, saying it did not affect their case against de Lima, as he was not a witness.