I am one of those who was pleased by the recent appointment of Leila de Lima
as the new Secretary of Justice. Atty. de Lima was the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) prior to her appointment to the DOJ. She is known as the fiery and very vocal head of the CHR and was one of the very first people to speak out against the November 23 Maguindanao massacre that left 57 people dead including 31 journalists. Under her term, the CHR also took an active role in addressing the surge of extrajudicial killings that have plagued the country during the Arroyo administration, including those that notoriously took place in the modern Philippine cities of Davao and Cebu. A Political Science major who graduated from De La Salle University in 1980, she placed eighth in the 1985 Bar Exam after earning her law degree from San Beda College in 1985. I wish her well in her new career in the DOJ. May she excellently perform her new duties with an independent mind, a humble heart, an honest conscience, and a courageous voice and pen.
