Human rights organizations have called on the Philippine government to drop its case against opposition senator Leila de Lima after two key witnesses retracted their testimonies, saying that government officials forced them to lie.

"The government must immediately and unconditionally release Senator Leila de Lima and hold accountable those responsible for her unjust detention," said Butch Olano, section director of Amnesty International Philippines.

De Lima, 62, initiated a senate investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte's "War on Drugs" and has been in police custody for over five years on allegations that she accepted bribes from drug lords during her term as justice secretary.

Last month, Rafael Ragos, a former official of the Bureau of Corrections, retracted his earlier testimony that he had delivered bribes from drug lords to de Lima. Kerwin Espinosa, a self-confessed drug lord, said in an affidavit that his testimony was "the result only of pressure, coercion, intimidation" from the police.

"After two witnesses recanted their allegations against me, it is clearer now that the charges against me are politically motivated, obviously invented by the Duterte machine of lies," de Lima said in a statement on her Twitter account. 

De Lima has long been a staunch critic of President Duterte. In 2009, de Lima, who was then chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, launched an investigation into the extra-judicial killings in Davao while Duterte was mayor.

When she launched a similar inquiry into the drug war as senator, the pro-Duterte Senate retaliated by subjecting her to a misogynist propaganda campaign that included releasing details of de Lima's personal life and a supposed sex tape.

A 'conspiracy to frame' de Lima

"The conspiracy to frame de Lima for a crime she didn't commit mirrors in horrid detail the reality of the Philippines under Duterte. What was done to her was brutal, systematic, and vindictive. She was made an example of what could happen to you if you go against the wishes of Duterte, if you dare to do your job to defend the rights of the people," Carlos Conde, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, told DW.

With presidential elections set for May 9, Conde said the fate of de Lima will be a test of how democracy can move forward in the Philippines. The latest election survey polls indicate that Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of former president and dictator, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., is in the lead for the role of president.

Duterte's daughter, Sara, is in the lead for the vice presidency.

"De Lima's release would provide hope for Filipinos that their country will get better after six years. If she remains in detention, particularly under another Marcos regime, that can only mean another human rights catastrophe," Conde explained.

Family ties remain strong in politics

Cronyism, particularly among families, is common in Filipino public office. A study by the University of the Philippines revealed that 74% of the members of the House of Representatives come from political families.

In the case of de Lima, Duterte allies converged against her to curry the president's favor.

"Unlike his political allies and supporters, de Lima refused to bow to Duterte. Her refusal to adhere to the norms of patronage was used against her," Vicente Rafael, a professor of Southeast Asian history with the University of Washington, told DW.

"Duterte's personal vendetta used the levers of government and relations of patronage to imprison her and keep her in detention even after all these years."

According to gender rights experts, the case of de Lima also underscores the precarity of gender equality and women in the Philippines. The country consistently scores high in gender equality indexes such as the Gender Gap Index. However, restrictive reproductive and sexual policies around abortion, birth control and divorce derail gender equality and the advancement of women, even in politics.

Case highlights gender imbalance

"Surveys don't fully capture certain realities. The promise of better economic and educational outcomes for women are undermined by weak protections of their sexual and reproductive rights. Informal cultural and religious norms still heavily regulate women's freedom," Sharmila Parmanand, a lecturer at the London School of Economics Gender Institute, told DW.

"Duterte exploited the norms that constrain women's political participation instead of working to dismantle them. He took advantage of the double standard of sexual morality to undermine de Lima. Once this happened, there was less resistance to his political prosecution of her," Parmanand added.

Socorro Reyes, women's rights activist and Regional Gender and Governance Adviser for the Center for Legislative Development, agrees that the de Lima case study is reflective of the position of women in the country.

"Women still face the same issues of sexual and gender-based violence whether at home, the workplace, the community or in politics," Reyes told DW. "When a sitting woman senator is subjected to the worst form of misogyny orchestrated by the president and obediently followed by the whole state apparatus, women are indeed facing extreme danger unless they get organized and resist sexism and authoritarianism," she added.

Edited by: Leah Carter