Background

Leila was born on August 27, 1959. Leila de Lima is the eldest daughter of the former Philippine COMELEC Commissioner Vicente de Lima and Norma Magistrado. She was born and raised in Iriga of the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. De Lima's aunt, Julie de Lima, married Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison, making him Leila de Lima's uncle by marriage.

Education

De Lima completed her basic education, graduating as class valedictorian. She graduated in 1980 from the De La Salle University with an AB History degree. She finished her Bachelor of Laws (Salutatorian) degree at the San Beda College of Law in 1985. She placed 8th in the 1985 Philippine Bar Examinations with an 86.26% bar rating.

Career

De Lima began her legal career as legal staff to Supreme Court associate justice Isagani Cruz from 1986 to 1989. She joined the Jardeleza Sobreviñas Diaz Hayudini and Bodegon Law Offices in 1989 where she served as a junior associate. She worked in the same position at the Jardeleza Law Offices from 1991 to 1993

De Lima joined the Philippine government in 1993 as a clerk and secretary of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal. She resigned in 1995 to return to private practice. She then joined Roco, Buñag, Kapunan and Migallos law firm as its junior partner.

In 1998 she set up her own firm, The De Lima Law Firm, and served as counsel in various election cases, most notable of which was the electoral protest of Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III in the 2007 Senate election over the 12th seat occupied by Miguel Zubiri. De Lima also served as a legal counsel to the campaign of Alan Peter Cayetano during his campaign in the Philippine Senate election, 2007. She was also a professor of law at the San Beda College focusing on Election Law, Business Organizations, Persons and Family Relations, Transportation Law, and Statutory Construction from 1986 to 1994 and 2006 to 2007.

Appointed as Chair of the Commission on Human Rights (2008–2010), De Lima led a team of young lawyers and human rights activists in investigating extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and all forms of human rights violations throughout the country.

As Secretary of the Department of Justice (2010–2015), De Lima resolved high-profile cases, including the prosecution of several prominent figures linked in the misuse of public funds, the mass murder of media workers in Mindanao, and the dangerous raids of the prison cells for maximum security inmates, subsequently exposing and ending their luxurious lifestyle.

De Lima was also part of the government's legal team that received favorable ruling over the Philippines’ case against China’s maritime claims from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

It was also under her watch as head of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking that the Philippines was removed from the US Human Trafficking Watchlist, paving the way for its long-hoped-for upgrade to Tier 1 status.

Like her father, De Lima also made strides as one of the most prominent election lawyers in the country, handling high-profile cases of electoral fraud for national and local candidates.

Elected senator in 2016, De Lima now sets her eyes on shepherding meaningful policy and structural reforms into laws intended to improve the country’s criminal justice system, promote human rights, strengthen the rule of law, fighting graft and corruption, and introducing changes in the Constitution and election laws.

Achievements

• 

  Senator Leila M. de Lima is one of the staunchest voices in the Philippine human rights and justice fronts. On her first time running for public office, she was elected Senator in 2016. She immediately launched an inquiry into the administration's war on drugs which has left thousands dead. For this, De Lima was recognized by Foreign Policy as among its Leading Global Thinkers for "standing up to an extremist leader".
  
  On October 31, 2017, Liberal International awarded de Lima the Prize For Freedom, the federation's highest human rights honor. De Lima is the second Filipino to obtain the award after former President Corazon Aquino in 1987.

Politics

Justice and extra-judicial killings (EJK). De Lima, who chaired the Commission on Human Rights and was Justice Secretary, is the face of the anti-EJK campaign in the Philippines. She is against the brutal ways propelled by the deadly Philippine Drug War. Her position and investigation on the war irked Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte and led to her imprisonment through trumped-up charges with no concrete evidences.

Social inequality. De Lima has said that 'poverty is the greatest injustice among Filipinos', however acknowledged that in reality, poverty cannot be totally eradicated, but through education, it can be reduced. She also stated that she aims to spearhead a law that would give free education, especially to the children of farmers. De Lima supported the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act in the Senate, despite not being able to vote for it as she was imprisoned and barred by the Duterte administration. She also supported the LGBT-backed SOGIE Equality Bill, although barred from voting for its passage.

Climate change and disasters. De Lima believes that the PH-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) will serve the Filipino people well as it can be used to aid the Philippines when disasters strike. She is also in favor of the Paris Agreement, especially since the Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world when it comes to climate change.

Foreign policy. De Lima supports the strong strategic partnership of the United States and the Philippines, calling the Supreme Court's favorable ruling on EDCA as a "much needed boost" to the country's armed forces modernization. De Lima was a member of the Visiting Forces Agreement Commission. In the disputes of the Philippines with China, specifically the West Philippine Sea, she believes that the best tactic of the Philippines is through the international courts and diplomacy and to push the Hague tribunal ruling as it favors the Philippines. For the Philippine Rise issue, De Lima reiterates that the territory is within Philippine jurisdiction as it was handed down by an international court to the Philippines back in 2011.

Peace in Mindanao. De Lima was one of the few personalities in government who continued to back the Bangsamoro Basic Law as she believed that Muslim Filipinos have the right to be given such a legislation, despite the odds against its passage. She defended the constitutionality of the Bangsamoro Basic Law against anti-Muslim personalities.

Views

Quotations: “It is the powerless and the helpless who most need our love and protection, not the powerful.”

“The message is this: Let us not wait until another Atenean on his way home is killed. Let us not wait until a La Sallian is killed. Let us not wait until another student or teacher from any other school, or a worker or commuter or motorist, is killed.”

Connections

De Lima is married to Plaridel Bohol. They have three children.

Father:

Vicente de Lima

Mother:

Norma Magistrado

Spouse:

Plaridel Bohol

Sister:

Caroline De Lima

Brother:

Vicente De Lima Jr.

Brother:

Vicente De Lima II

Son:

Vincent Joshua De Lima

Son:

Israel De Lima

Son:

Jiro De Lima

colleague:

Koko Pimentel

He is a Filipino politician who is the 28th Senate President of the Philippines from 2016 to 2018.

colleague:

Benigno Aquino III

(born February 8, 1960 in Manila)

He is a Filipino politician who served as the 15th President of the Philippines from 2010 until 2016.

References

• Time Magazine (May 1, 2017/May 8, 2017) The 100 Most Influential People John Legend Cover