6.3 Senator Leila M. De Lima, Member of Parliament, Philippines Senator Leila de Lima is detained79 and was represented by Attorney Katherine C., Deputy Chief of Staffs under Senator De Lima’s Office in the Senate of Philippines. Attorney Katherine C. delivered a presentation on Involving Parliament in supporting Prison Reforms. In her introduction, Katherine C. mentioned that Senator De Lima is a long-time advocate for the rights of persons deprived of liberty and has witnessed their situation from at least four different perspectives for the past of 13 and half years.80 I. Human Rights Defender Recounting the experience of Senator De Lima, Attorney Katherine C. elaborated that Senator De Lima as a human rights defender and a chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, Philippines (CHRP), she had conducted several visits to jail to look into conditions of prisoners and detainees which is a step taken by CHRP to deter a then major concern about alarming cases of enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and poor condition. During her term as the chairperson of CHRP, the Supreme Court had devised new protections for detainees in addition to the Writ of Habeas Corpus, including the Writ of Amparo. It shows that even judiciary had recognised shortcomings in places of custody of either civilians or military authorities by the late of 2000. In addition, she merged her past experiences as an elected law practitioner with her advocacy as a human rights defender and her duties as a public servant by moving towards the disenfranchisement of certain vulnerable sectors whose exercise of their rights of suffrage had been curtailed in various ways for different reasons. These sectors included persons deprived of liberty who not having been convicted of any crime yet continue to possess the right to vote. Under her leadership in the CHRP and in cooperation with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the very first batch of persons deprived of liberty were allowed to cast their vote in 2010 national election.81 II. Former Secretary of the Department of Justice Katherine C. elaborated that Senator De Lima continued her commitment to improve the conditions of persons deprived of liberty, both prisoners and detainees alike and engaged with other stakeholders when become the Secretary of the Department of Justice. In November 2010, Senator De Lima participated in the National Summit on Collaborative Partnership towards enhancing the Dignity of Persons Deprived of Liberty, the first of its kind the Philippines. During the occasion, Senator De Lima delivered a lecture titled, “Working for Justice that moves beyond Punishment”, which sends a message that is mostly directed at the duty holders in attendance 79 Senator De Lima is detained in the Custodial Centre of the National Police Headquarters, Philippines Senator De Lima was a human rights defender, former secretary of the Department of Justice, member of parliament and a person deprived of liberty herself. 81 Of the estimated 49,000 of persons deprived of liberty across the Philippines, 24,149 were able to register, of which 17,336 or more than 1/3 of the total estimate of persons deprived of liberty had cast their vote during the national election. 80 62