III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 142 

Condemning the Government of the Philippines for its continued detention 

of Senator Leila De Lima, calling for her immediate release, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 4, 2019 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, and 

Mr. COONS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the Government of the Philippines for its continued detention of Senator Leila De Lima, calling for 

her immediate release, and for other purposes. 

Whereas extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the Government 

of the Philippines as part of a government-directed antidrug campaign present the foremost human rights challenge in the Philippines; 

Whereas the Department of State’s 2017 Human Rights Report notes numerous human rights concerns, including 

the persecution of human rights defenders and the detention of political prisoners in the Philippines, stating, 

‘‘The most significant human rights issues included: 

killings by security forces, vigilantes and others allegedly 

connected to the government, and by insurgents; torture 


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•SRES 142 IS 

and abuse of prisoners and detainees by security forces; 

often harsh and life threatening prison conditions; warrantless arrests by security forces and cases of apparent 

government disregard for legal rights and due process; 

political prisoners; killings of and threats against journalists; official corruption and abuse of power; threats of violence against human rights activists; violence against 

women; and forced labor.’’; 

Whereas, on February 23, 2017, an arrest warrant was 

issued for Philippine Senator Leila De Lima for allegations related to drug trafficking, and as of April 4, 2019, 

Senator De Lima had been detained for 770 days; 

Whereas the charges brought against Senator De Lima followed a history of criticizing extrajudicial killings in the 

Philippines and the Rodrigo R. Duterte administration’s 

antidrug campaign, including— 

(1) in 2009, in her capacity as Chair of the Commission on Human Rights, Senator De Lima investigated 

the alleged involvement of then-Mayor of Davao City 

Rodrigo R. Duterte in the extrajudicial killings executed 

by the so-called ‘‘Davao Death Squad’’; 

(2) on December 15, 2014, then-Secretary of Justice 

De Lima led a raid of the national penitentiary which resulted in the confiscation of drugs, firearms, and contraband items and the extraction of 19 drug lords and highprofile inmates involved in the facility’s drug network; 

(3) on July 13, 2016, Senator De Lima, in her capacity as Chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and 

Human Rights, filed Senate Resolution No. 9 calling for 

an investigation into extrajudicial killings and summary 

executions of suspected drug offenders arising from 

President Duterte’s ‘‘War on Drugs’’; 


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•SRES 142 IS 

(4) on August 22, 2016, Senator De Lima conducted Senate hearings during which alleged former 

death squad members detailed extrajudicial killings executed as part of the antidrug campaign and one member 

testified that Duterte participated in extrajudicial killings 

as mayor of Davao City; and 

(5) on August 2, 2016, and September 19, 2016, 

Senator De Lima delivered two privileged speeches on the 

Senate floor calling on President Duterte to end the 

killings; 

Whereas President Duterte vowed to publicly destroy Senator 

De Lima; 

Whereas the charges against Senator De Lima were supported by testimony from inmates whose illegal activities 

were disrupted by her 2014 raid; 

Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted an Opinion on 

August 24, 2018, finding several categories of arbitrary 

detention and concluding, ‘‘Ms. De Lima’s political views 

and convictions are clearly at the centre of the present 

case and that the authorities have displayed an attitude 

towards her that can only be characterized as targeted 

and discriminatory. Indeed, she has been the target of 

partisan persecution and there is no explanation for this 

other than her exercise of the right to express such views 

and convictions as a human rights defender.’’; 

Whereas the Department of State’s 2017 Human Rights Report highlighted due process obstructions in the case of 

Senator De Lima, stating, ‘‘During the year prosecutors 

used a variety of legal tactics, including filing new and 

amending previous charges, to delay arraignment.’’; 


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•SRES 142 IS 

Whereas the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary 

Detention recommended that the Government of the Philippines adopt certain measures, including— 

(1) the immediate release of Senator De Lima; 

(2) an independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary detention; and 

(3) the provision of compensation and other reparations, including reinstatement to the positions from which 

she was ousted; 

Whereas, on July 20, 2017, the Tom Lantos Human Rights 

Commission of the United States Congress held a hearing 

on The Human Rights Consequences of the War on 

Drugs in the Philippines, during which Human Rights 

Watch testified about the ‘‘relentless government campaign’’ against Senator De Lima ‘‘in evident response to 

her outspoken criticism of Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ and 

her calls for accountability’’; 

Whereas Amnesty International finds Senator De Lima’s detention to be based solely on her criticism of the Government of the Philippines, her political beliefs, and her 

peaceful defense of human rights, and considers her a 

Prisoner of Conscience; 

Whereas the immediate release of Senator De Lima has been 

called for by nongovernmental organizations, human 

rights groups, parliamentary bodies, and individuals including the European Parliament, the Australian Parliament, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Liberal International, 

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, and many 

of Senator De Lima’s colleagues in the Senate minority 

bloc; 


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•SRES 142 IS 

Whereas Maria Ressa, an investigative journalist who founded the online news platform Rappler, has been arrested 

several times on charges against her and her news organization widely viewed by human rights observers and a 

number of governments as part of a pattern of 

‘‘weaponizing the rule of law’’ to repress independent 

media; and 

Whereas Ms. Ressa has been released on bail, but she and 

Rappler still face charges and will soon be standing trial: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns— 

3 (A) the Government of the Philippines for 

4 its role in state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings 

5 by police and other armed individuals as part of 

6 the ‘‘War on Drugs’’; 

7 (B) the arrest and detention of human 

8 rights defenders and political leaders who exer9 cise their rights to freedom of expression; 

10 (C) the harassment, arrest, and unjustified 

11 judicial proceedings against the media and jour12 nalists, in particular, the proceeding against 

13 Rappler and Maria Ressa; and 

14 (D) the continued detention of Senator 

15 Leila De Lima; 

16 (2) considers Senator De Lima to be a prisoner 

17 of conscience, detained solely on account of her politVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR142.IS SR142

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•SRES 142 IS 

1 ical views and the legitimate exercise of her freedom 

2 of expression; 

3 (3) calls on the Government of the Philippines 

4 to immediately release Senator De Lima, drop all 

5 charges against her, remove restrictions on her per6 sonal and work conditions, and allow her to fully dis7 charge her legislative mandate, especially as Chair of 

8 the Committee on Social Justice; 

9 (4) urges the Government of the Philippines to 

10 recognize the importance of human rights defenders 

11 and their work and allow them to operate freely 

12 without fear of reprisal; and 

13 (5) urges the Government of the Philippines to 

14 guarantee the right to the freedom of the press, and 

15 to drop all the charges against Maria Ressa and 

16 Rappler. 

Æ 


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