After a Muntinlupa court denied her plea for bail, the legal team of detained former senator Leila de Lima is seriously considering submitting a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
De Lima's lawyer Dino de Leon said they have previously stated that a petition for habeas corpus is one of the options they are contemplating for their client's release.
The writ of habeas corpus is a fundamental constitutional privilege that protects an individual from illegal and indefinite detention.
De Lima has been imprisoned since 2017 on drug allegations brought against her during the regime of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Her attorneys had stated that they would submit a motion for reconsideration after Judge Romeo Buenaventura of the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 256 denied her bail request.
While planning their next legal step, De Leon said that the Department of Justice (DOJ) should end their client's political persecution.
According to De Lima's lawyer, the DOJ should demonstrate its willingness to grant interim liberty to its client through acts rather than words.
Meanwhile, international nations worried about De Lima's continued arrest should intervene and encourage the Marcos administration to withdraw the remaining allegations against her, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
According to HRW senior Asia researcher Carlos Conde, De Lima's refusal of bail in the final of three drug allegations against her "illustrates the dysfunctional and politicized nature of the Philippine justice system."
He noted an International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights article that stipulates it "shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody."
Despite concerns about the country's human rights situation, the HRW representative stated that the Philippines continues to profit from the European Union's (EU) Generalized Scheme of Preference Plus (GSP+), which provides tariff reductions in exchange for the country's adherence to international human rights agreements.
