Leila de Lima

"They destroyed my life. That’s why I’m going to rebuild my life now. They destroyed or ruined my name, my reputation. Now that I’m free, I’m going to work hard to redeem my name, and complete vindication is the key."

"You failed to break me. I’m still standing, standing firm. I hope you will realize that what you did to me was a big mistake."

"While I know that I am a strong person, I never realized that I could still turn out to be stronger."

"I really needed to do the daily routines to keep me strong and hindi ako mawalan ng pag-asa (for me not to lose hope). I needed to survive this."

"Would people still remember me?"

"This is not about vengeance. This is about justice finally taking its course."

"This is how justice should work—those in power must be held to the same standards as everyone else,"

"Poetic justice and also vindication"

"Today, more than ever, I am convinced that I did the right thing of sacrificing my personal liberty and even my political career."

"I will stand my ground. For when they come after me and try to silence me, they are actually coming after those who cannot speak for themselves and defend themselves. I cannot, in good conscience, let that happen."

"You can never crucify Truth. You cannot permanently stall Justice."

"No high concrete walls, barbed wires, or caged environment can silence me. I remain free in spirit and unbroken. I’m not giving up on my causes for truth, justice and human rights."

"Their perpetual innocence and purity in spirit insulate them from the cruelty and irrationality of humankind."

"I’m no longer in a hurry. I don’t rush anymore."

"It lies in the pen I hold in my hands."

"You have hurdled your law studies under challenging circumstances—as a family man, as a father to two very young children, the elder of whom has autism, as a very patient and loving younger brother to a special brother… the silently suffering son to a controversial mother, who is now a victim of persecution."

"Democracy is the power of choice; and that power belongs to the Filipino people. The true value of that power of choice is its ability to address and solve the real conditions, problems and challenges that are facing our people."

"Every lie, every piece of fake news, every form of propaganda that is manufactured and shared by people is like a disease or a poison that will kill everything that is good and just about our beautiful nation."

"Blood money is what that is. Some people might not think that there is anything wrong about making money by making up stories, but they cannot be more wrong."

"Nations are weakened by false information."

"Remember, fake news is like a drug: it makes you feel good by making you see or hear things that you badly want to believe are real; but, in reality, it is a form of poison that will destroy from within."

"It doesn’t end with one campaign. But this win—this hard-earned, against-the-odds win—proves that even in a system built to discourage idealism, idealism can still break through,"

"We made space where there was none. We proved that truth, even when battered, can still make its way forward"

"But it had something more powerful—people like you"

"I lost my freedom, but I held on to my voice,"

"Irresponsibility must not become a culture."

"Hold accountable those who must be held accountable no matter how high the power so that corruption, violence and poverty no longer become a cycle in our country."

"I am a symbol of past injustice, hoping for a future where accountability reigns."