IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 233 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 14, 2019 
Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 
RASKIN, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. DOGGETT) submitted the following reso-
lution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning the Government of the Philippines for its con-
tinued 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 anti-
drug campaign present the foremost human rights chal-
lenge in the Philippines; 
Whereas the Department of State’s 2017 Human Rights Re-
port notes numerous human rights concerns, including 
the persecution of human rights defenders and the deten-
tion 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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•HRES 233 IH 
and abuse of prisoners and detainees by security forces; 
often harsh and life threatening prison conditions; 
warrantless arrests by security forces and cases of appar-
ent government disregard for legal rights and due proc-
ess; political prisoners; killings of and threats against 
journalists; official corruption and abuse of power; 
threats of violence against human rights activists; vio-
lence against women; and forced labor.’’; 
Whereas, on February 23, 2017, an arrest warrant was 
issued for Philippine Senator Leila De Lima for allega-
tions related to drug trafficking, and as of February 28, 
2019, Senator De Lima had been detained for 734 days. 
Whereas the charges brought against Senator De Lima fol-
lowed 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 Commis-
sion 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 re-
sulted in the confiscation of drugs, firearms, and contra-
band items and the extraction of 19 drug lords and high- 
profile inmates involved in the facility’s drug network; 
(3) on July 13, 2016, Senator De Lima, in her ca-
pacity 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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