How de Lima sees her possible return to Congress: Poetic justice, vindication

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Former House Deputy Speaker and former Quezon Fourth District Rep. Erin Tañada (left), former Senator Leila de Lima and former Ifugao Lone District Representative Teddy Baguilat formalize bid for House seats through the party-list race. (INQUIRER.net file photo / JOHN ERIC MENDOZA)

MANILA, Philippines — After all the political ordeals she went through, former Senator Leila de Lima feels that her possible return to the halls of Congress is sweet poetic justice and, at the same time, a vindication.

De Lima expressed her sentiment in an online interview with reporters covering the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

She was asked if she feels redeemed that her Mamamayang Liberal (ML) party-list is poised to get at least one seat in the chamber.

This forecast is based on the partial and unofficial tally from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) transparency servers.

READ: Timeline: The ordeal of Leila de Lima

In response, de Lima said she does feel exonerated — but not entirely as justice has not been served for thousands of victims during the past administration’s drug war.

Aside from this, she still bears the pain of having been incarcerated on questionable charges.

“Yes, definitely. Poetic justice and also vindication,” she said.

“I feel vindicated, lalo na nu’ng nangyayari at nakikita natin ‘yung mga mga lumalabas noon sa quad committee hearings. I definitely feel vindicated,” the former senator repeated.

(I feel vindicated, especially when things were happening and we were seeing what were coming out of the committee hearings.)

“Although I can’t say, I wouldn’t say that I’m now completely vindicated, that indeed justice has been served for the thousands of victims, and also justice for me, personally, because with what happened to me,” she recalled.

“I was a clear victim of gross injustice and persecution,” she lamented.

As of 11:29 a.m. of Wednesday, the Comelec’s transparency servers show that the ML party-list is ranked 14th after getting 541,000 votes or 1.32 percent of all total votes processed by the quick count.

If the tally holds true up to the national canvassing, ML party-list will get at least one seat in the 20th Congress.

De Lima said she is happy, but she would have preferred that the party-list’s two other nominees would get seats too.

She is referring to former Ifugao Lone District Representative Teddy Baguilat and former House Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada.

Nevertheless, she said even if ML did not get as many votes as the other party-lists, that is understandable since it is just a new group.

“Of course, I’m happy and, at the same time, sad also because you know, we were hoping, we were working towards including my two co-nominees, lead nominees, in the ML,” she told reporters.

“I would have wanted that we three are together. But, of course (it’s understandable), considering the struggles of our party-list because it’s a first-timer. It’s a newbie. [A] neophyte,” de Lima explained. /apl/cb