De Lima knew that all it would take to secure her release was an act of contrition and a vow never to stand in the president’s way again. In an interview I did with her in August 2017, she brushed aside the option of submission, “By pleading to an offense – any offense – that I did not commit in exchange for some promise, I would be selling my mandate, not serving it. It would be tantamount to admitting that I am being charged, detained and oppressed for reasons other than the simple and incontrovertible fact that I dared stand up to the President in order to defend the human rights of our people.”