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'If only I could bring them all': De Lima to adopt 5 cats from detention facility

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Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="ABS-CBN News/FILE " src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/11/15/20191023-cats-1034832.jpg"/><figcaption>ABS-CBN News/FILE</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — Former senator Leila de Lima will be adopting 5 cats from her detention quarters in Camp Crame, she said, as she sought to continue on with her life and redeem herself after nearly 7 years of being locked up. De Lima said these cats kept her company and became part of her daily routine at the Philippine National Police&#x27;s Custodial Facility, which was why she said she would miss them.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/11/13/23/free-leila-now-supporters-clamor-for-de-limas-release">&#x27;Free Leila Now! De Lima arrives in Muntinlupa RTC, supporters clamor for her release</a></li></ul>&quot;I do physical chores in my compound, I feed the cats, I feed the chickens. I talked to the cats and they became so attached to me and that&#x27;s why I miss them so much,&quot; she told ANC&#x27;s Headstart. &quot;Even now, as I think about them I am so saddened. I cannot bring them all,&quot; she said.&quot;If only I could bring them all I could, but so it is not possible for me.&quot; In an earlier interview with ABS-CBN News, the lawyer said her feline friends reached over 20 in her compound, but she could only bring 5 of her &quot;favorites&quot; home.&quot;Last night, I was actually, my tears were falling when I was thinking about them because mayroon akong 5 na isinama, pinalabas ko na. Mayroon pa atang isa, hindi pa siya nahuhuli. Ayaw pa pahuli,&quot; she said. In her dispatch from Camp Crame dated Feb. 14, 2021, the former lawmaker described her cats there as a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/leiladelimaofficial/photos/a.1679197948977420/2952905914939944/?type=3" target="_blank">source of joy</a>. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/11/15/23/de-lima-camp-mulls-legal-action-vs-ex-duterte-admin-officials">De Lima camp mulls legal action vs ex-Duterte administration officials</a></li></ul>These stray cats greeted her from her 24-hour medical furlough then, she said, &quot;in an almost perfect horizontal line formation.&quot; &quot;What a delightful sight... All of them with a weary yet accusing stare, as if saying &#x27;where the hell have you been?&#x27; They obviously missed me,&quot; wrote De Lima. &quot;I had to immediately feed them as most of them had a famished appearance. What a constant source of joy and good vibes!&quot;In <a href="https://www.facebook.com/leiladelimaofficial/posts/pfbid08w8zSCX8KYCPDCKbN3uxEdxVCCMS4cr2Sk8zGFnhX6phLda3rCx2qYcrCTv1foJ5l?ref=embed_post" target="_blank">November 2020</a>, she also mourned the death of her pet cat there named &quot;Bull.&quot; Bull was a gift from a staff, she said, when another cat that she took care of died. &quot;Light gray in color, Bull, while tough-looking, was the quiet, reserved type, and very disciplined. He was easy to appreciate and love. Like those before him, it hurts losing him,&quot; she wrote in a dispatch from Camp Crame. &quot;A moral lesson always whenever I lose a loved one—a human or a pet dog or cat—is this: Habang andyan pa sila, ipakita na dapat nang lubus-lubusan ang ating pagmamahal. Kahit anong araw o oras, pwede silang mawala sa atin. Sayang ang mga pagkakataon,&quot; she said. In a statement in January last year, the former senator said her detention quarters felt &quot;a little bit cozier&quot; because of the presence of her furry companions. This was &quot;despite the coldness of its bare walls and the harshness of the fences that surround me,&quot; De Lima said. De Lima filed Senate Bill No. 1918 or the Revised Animal Welfare Act in 2020 to strengthen protection measures for animals. <figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2873725" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

In a statement in January last year, the former senator said her detention quarters felt 'a little bit cozier' because of the presence of her furry companions.

'If only I could bring them all': De Lima to adopt 5 cats from detention facility

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'If only I could bring them all': De Lima to adopt 5 cats from detention facility

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published November 15, 2023 11:18 AM PHT

|

Updated November 15, 2023 11:44 AM PHT

Read More:

cats

Leila De Lima

Camp Crame

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