CBCP prays for 'fair day in court' after De Lima arrest

MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said Friday that it is hoping for justice and not vengeance in the case of Sen. Leila De Lima, who has been taken into police custody over her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.

 

"Let all who have been charged be accorded their fair day in the court of laws," the CBCP said in a statement on Friday after De Lima surrendered to authorities on drug charges.

 

"We beg the Lord to pour upon us the passion not for vengeance but for justice," CBCP also said.

 

De Lima turned herself in early Friday morning and was brought at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame. The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court issued a warrant for her arrest on Thursday and agreed on Friday morning to postpone proceedings to dismiss the case. The hearing on her motion to quash the case was originally set for Friday morning.

 

 

READ: De Lima surrenders to CIDG

 

"Mercy without justice is weakness. Justice without love is tyranny," he also said.

 

The CBCP has been increasingly critical of a perceived disregard for human rights in the government's war on drugs. Its position has earned the CBCP and the Church criticism from supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte, including House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who has dismissed the bishops as "simply a bunch of shameless hypocrites."