Daughter of Fortune: Leila de Lima

There are those that seek fortune.  Then there are those that Fortune seeks out. The US civil war Generals Ulysses Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman famously belonged to the second category.  So does President Benigno Aquino III, a man who was literally thrust into a job he had no ambition for.  Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima is another one of those that seem to be without grand ambition but who are marked by destiny, as it were.

It is unlikely that she expected to be named Chair of the Commission for Human Rights given her lack of background in human rights legislation and practice.   Yet she was named to that position in 2008 by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA), who probably did not expect her to do much with the position–as did, ironically, many human rights advocates at the time.   Nor did she probably expect to be appointed Secretary of Justice, given her past as a GMA appointee and her lack of familiarity with criminal law.  During the transition period in mid-2010, the betting was that if any high-profile figure from the previous administration would be retained, it would be then Secretary of Health, Esperanza Cabral.

But, as Machiavelli advised the Prince, Fortuna only presents the opportunity; it is up to the lucky one to grasp it.   And fortune favors the one who acts boldly.  And on both occasions, Leila de Lima did, magnificently.  “She made the Commission of Human Rights a powerful instrument that both advocates and victims could use to press their cases, and she did this in the teeth of opposition from the military and other forces, “ says one prominent human rights advocate.  Her defining moment as Chair of CHR, says a University of the Philippines human rights specialist, was when she practically accused Mayor Duterte of Davao of personal responsibility for the killings in Davao.  “That took a lot of courage, and it left Duterte sputtering.”

The defining moment of her tenure as Secretary of Justice was, of course, when she failed to recognize—indeed, defied—the TRO on her hold departure order (HDO)for GMA earlier this month.   That brought practically the whole legal profession down on her, for if there is one thing that all lawyers agree on, it is that a TRO issued by the Supreme Court is “final and executory.”  It also made her the latest addition to our pantheon of heroes in the eyes of the non-lawyers–that is, the vast majority of our citizens.

Did de Lima act because she sensed that public opinion—by over 70 per cent according to one poll—was on her side?  Did she act as she did because the president had given her orders to keep GMA in the country?

According to a human rights lawyer who has followed her career closely, “It may well be true that she realized that the Filipino people would not forgive her if she allowed GMA to slip away.  It may also be true that she knew P-Noy wanted GMA around.  But she mainly acted out of conviction.  Even before the TRO issue, she had become the face of the administration’s determination to prosecute and convict GMA.”

Just as her highly publicized confrontation with the military and Duterte catapulted her to the position of Secretary of Justice, many are now of the opinion that her defiance of the TRO has secured her a sure seat in the Senate in the 2013 elections and, some would even say, the presidency in 2016.  According to one survey, at the moment, she has an unbeatable 93 per cent awareness rating and a 92 per cent approval rating.

Does she have political ambitions?  Here opinion is divided.  The human rights personality advocate mentioned above says, “No, she is mainly motivated by public service.  She is that rarity: a really professional public servant.  I really hope she stays where she is right now.”  The human rights lawyer says that while she acts out of deep conviction, she also harbors political ambitions.

Her enemies in the GMA camp and her potential rivals in a race for the Senate and the presidency are understandably concerned about the meteoric rise of her stock among the public.  But they are caught in a terrible dilemma.  Like President Aquino, de Lima has the same quality of invulnerability associated with Ronald Reagan, who was called the “Teflon President”: the more you criticize them, the more popular they become.

The worst mistake these people can make now is to maneuver the Corona Supreme Court to cite and jail de Lima for contempt.  That will make her the most formidable public figure in the country, one that thousands would probably follow to jail.

The only thing that this writer sees as standing in the way of de Lima’s destiny is if she starts to court fortune, if she starts to calculate like a politician, if she starts sending out texts trumpeting her awards and achievements.  For there is something that Fortuna does not want among those it bestows its grace on: she does not want to be courted by them.  She wants to dispense her favors freely.

*Inq.net columnist Walden Bello can be contacted at [email protected].