The Financial Times (FT) has named detained Sen. Leila de Lima as one of its 16 “most influential” women of the year together with climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The senator, along with 15 other women awardees, were cited for breaking “new ground in 2019 or brought attention to some of the most important issues of our time, whether at a local, national or international level.”
Businesswoman Gina Miller, former governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeria Gontareva and journalist Carrie Gracie were also named among the most influential women of 2019. Also cited were New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, United States presidential aspirant Sen. Elizabeth Warren, European Union Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, among others.
The business newspaper cited De Lima for her courage and determination to defend human rights and defy President Rodrigo Duterte’s “vicious policies.”
De Lima was detained in February 2017 at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center on drug charges, which she has vehemently denied. She is the only Filipino who made it to the
Financial Times’ roster of different women from different countries who “stood out” for their bold stance on current issues and inspiring advocacies.
De Lima claimed that she earned the ire of Duterte after she initiated a Senate probe on the alleged extrajudicial killings of suspected drug personalities as a result of the government’s war on drugs.