Leila de Lima

Leila Norma Eulalia Josefa Magistrado de Lima (born August 27, 1959) is a Filipino politician, lawyer, human rights activist and law professor who has served as the representative for Mamamayang Liberal, the sectoral wing of the Liberal Party, since 2025. De Lima previously served as a senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022 and as secretary of justice from 2010 to 2015.

Born in Iriga, Camarines Sur, de Lima was educated at the De La Salle University and the San Beda College of Law. She passed the Philippine Bar Examinations in 1985 and began her legal career as a staff member of Associate Justice Isagani Cruz. From 2008 to 2010, she served as the chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights under the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. In 2010, President Benigno Aquino III appointed de Lima to his cabinet as secretary of justice. She would hold the position until 2015, when she sought a seat in the Senate of the Philippines. In 2016, de Lima was elected to the Senate, having run under the Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid. She was defeated in her re-election bid in 2022 under Team Robredo–Pangilinan.

Known as a vocal critic of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, she was arrested in 2017 under charges linked to the New Bilibid Prison drug trafficking scandal during her term as justice secretary. Later that year, she was awarded the Prize for Freedom by Liberal International. She was held in pretrial detention until a court granted her petition for bail in 2023, although she served out her remaining term as senator and filed legislation while held.

Following her release, de Lima successfully ran as the first nominee of the Mamamayang Liberal party-list in the 2025 House of Representatives elections.