De Lima lauds Moreno's vow to respect human rights in campaign vs illegal drugs

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has commended Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso for his commitment to put premium on human rights in the capital city's campaign against illegal drugs.

De Lima, a human rights and social justice champion, issued the pronouncement following Domagoso's statement that he fully supports Mr. Duterte's war on drugs, but he will ensure that the human rights of the suspected drug offenders are respected.

"I commend the new Manila Mayor for his uncompromising stand, but I hope that he fulfills his promise to end the spate of killings in the country's capital," said De Lima, the staunchest critic of Mr. Duterte's war on drugs.

Aside from respecting human rights, De Lima also advised Moreno to focus on other challenges in the campaign against illegal drugs, such as lack of rehabilitation centers for drug dependents and the Bahay Pag-asa for young offenders.

At the same time, the lady Senator from Bicol reminded other chief local executives to stick to the rule of law and constitutionally-guaranteed due process so as to help put a stop to the rampant killings in connection with Mr. Duterte's sham war on drugs.

"I hope that other mayors will follow Isko's lead and put more premium on respecting human rights and giving importance to the dignity of human life," De Lima added.

As a means to silence her, De Lima has been subjected to fabricated charges by the Duterte administration with the connivance of perjured and coerced witnesses to put her in unjust and illegal detention.

Although in detention, De Lima continues to speak out her vocal opposition to the government's most murderous war on drugs, calling it a farce as it failed to solve the root cause of the problem and only led to more killings of thousands of poor Filipinos.

In addition, De Lima filed several resolutions seeking to look into the rampant extrajudicial killings under the Duterte government. For the 18th Congress, De Lima is set to resubmit her Anti-Extrajudicial Killing Bill, which aims to hold accountable those behind the spate of killings in connection with the government's war on drugs.

As of last count, the Philippine National Police (PNP) placed the number of suspects killed at 6,600, but there are around 25,000 deaths categorized under "homicide under investigation."