Fierce Duterte critic arrested on drug trafficking charges

SINGAPORE — One of the Philippines government's fiercest critics of President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs was arrested Friday in Manila on drug-related charges.

Sen. Leila de Lima headed a commission investigating extra-judicial killings under the war on drugs, which has left more than 7,000 dead since Duterte took office in June. She surrendered to the Philippine National Police on Friday morning at her Senate office on charges of organizing a drug trafficking operation out of Manila’s notorious New Bilibid Prison while she was justice secretary from 2010 to 2015.

She is also accused of using drug money to fund her 2016 senatorial campaign.

In a video statement posted to her Facebook page before her arrest, de Lima accused Duterte of being the mastermind of the charges, which she called manufactured and politically motivated.

“My arrest is an appalling sign of the return of a power-hungry, morally bankrupt and abusive government,” she said.

In a plot she called “revolting,” de Lima noted that the evidence against her is based on the testimony of convicted criminals who received special privileges in prison and were cleared of charges in exchange for testifying. “The Filipino people know your style, Mr. President,” she said. “To put the rule of law in your hands, silence your critics, and destroy those who will go against your caprices.”

Senate supporters of de Lima also spoke out against the arrest. Senators from the Liberal Party, of which de Lima is a member, released a statement condemning the arrest as a political attack.

“The Liberal Party reiterates that it condemns the political persecution of brave administration critic Sen. Leila de Lima,” the statement read. They  also expressed fear for her safety under police custody, citing the recent high-profile kidnap and murder case of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo at the hands of police.

Human rights groups also blasted the arrest.

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“What we’re seeing is nothing less than a political vendetta in which President Duterte is targeting his highest-profile critic and challenger of his abusive war on drugs,” said Phelim Kine, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch.

“This is a sad day for the Philippines,” Kine said. “The judiciary has been hijacked to enable Duterte to effectively silence his political opponents.”

Duterte was a vocal critic of de Lima while she was chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, which was investigating the surge in killings linked to the war on drugs. In August, as drug allegations began to mount against her, Duterte told reporters he thought de Lima should commit suicide: “If I were de Lima, ladies and gentlemen, I will hang myself,” Duterte said.

In September, de Lima was ousted as chair in a vote by other members of the committee.

Last week, Duterte said de Lima had to "face the music. There were a number of witnesses, it took two months to develop the case,” Duterte added.

If convicted, de Lima faces 12 years to life in prison. In the Philippines, legislators are only immune from arrest for crimes punishable by fewer than six years in prison.

The campaign against de Lima and her arrest sends a message to Duterte’s critics, said Human Rights Watch’s Kine. “If you challenge the government’s narrative, you will suffer and suffer greatly,” he added.