Remember Trillanes? De Lima camp unfazed by detention, survey numbers

MANILA – Senator Leila de Lima is optimistic about her chances for reelection in the 2022 polls despite her detention and her low rating in the latest Pulse Asia survey. 

A fierce critic of President Duterte, De Lima has been in jail since 2017 over alleged links to narcotics syndicates during her time as justice secretary, a charge that she has repeatedly denied. 

A Pulse Asia survey on potential Senate bets in the 2022 polls showed de Lima getting the support of 7.3 percent of respondents, equivalent to 30th to 36th places.

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“We’re very optimistic about that. Of course a lot of people are afraid to express their support towards Senator Leila de Lima because she has been the most consistent of everyone in terms of taking a moral stand against this administration particularly President Duterte’s war on drugs,” De Lima’s spokesperson and counsel Atty. Dino de Leon said on ANC. 

“So of course, she has been persecuted, but people will remember that she was the only one who took that moral stand consistently.”

De Lima on Wednesday asked a Muntinlupa court to allow a photographer at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center to take her pictures and her lawyer to notarize documents related to her preparation for her reelection bid.

• De Lima seeks court's OK for visit of photographer, lawyer for COC filing preps

She has been nominated by the Liberal Party to be part of its 2022 Senate slate, and has accepted their nomination.

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De Leon said De Lima’s team has already enlisted volunteers to help them out during the campaign period.

“In fact a lot of volunteers have taken it upon themselves last August, when we launched the Laban Leila campaign, to make sure that they will campaign for Senator Leila de Lima precisely because she can’t do the campaigning herself.”

“And of course, she cannot go out physically to campaign and to go to different places, but there are volunteers who have already promised to do their best to make sure that Senator Leila de Lima will be elected,” he said.

De Leon noted that it is not the first time for an aspirant to campaign for a Senate seat while in jail.

“It has happened in the past already that a Senator, while in jail, won the elections. That is Senator Sonny Trillanes. And the reason why the people actually made sure that Senator Trillanes will be elected was because of his moral stand as well against corruption, particularly during the time of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.”

“With all the scandals that we have right now, in terms of corruption, in terms of human rights atrocities, people will also remember Senator Leila de Lima,” he said.

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--ANC, 30 September 2021