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

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's Custodial Facility, which was why she said she would miss them.

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"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's why I miss them so much," she told ANC's Headstart.

"Even now, as I think about them I am so saddened. I cannot bring them all," she said.

"If only I could bring them all I could, but so it is not possible for me."

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 "favorites" home.

"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," she said.

In her dispatch from Camp Crame dated Feb. 14, 2021, the former lawmaker described her cats there as a source of joy.

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These stray cats greeted her from her 24-hour medical furlough then, she said, "in an almost perfect horizontal line formation."

"What a delightful sight... All of them with a weary yet accusing stare, as if saying 'where the hell have you been?' They obviously missed me," wrote De Lima.

"I had to immediately feed them as most of them had a famished appearance. What a constant source of joy and good vibes!"

In November 2020, she also mourned the death of her pet cat there named "Bull."

Bull was a gift from a staff, she said, when another cat that she took care of died.

"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," she wrote in a dispatch from Camp Crame.

"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," she said.

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.

This was "despite the coldness of its bare walls and the harshness of the fences that surround me," De Lima said.

De Lima filed Senate Bill No. 1918 or the Revised Animal Welfare Act in 2020 to strengthen protection measures for animals.

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