By Gabriela Baron
Former Senator Leila de Lima on Sunday, Oct. 9, recounted her hostage ordeal, saying she considers the incident as a near-death experience.
De Lima was held hostage by three inmates inside the Camp Crame Custodial Center in Quezon City Sunday morning.
The three persons under police custody (PUPCs) were former members of the Abu Sayyaf Group, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“After being told by the hostage-taker that since his two other companions were already dead, he’s certain he would also be killed and he might just as well also kill me, I consider what happened to me as a near-death experience,” De Lima recalled.
“If not for the timely intervention of the PNP security force, I don’t think I would have come out alive since the hostage-taker was already determined to die and take me with him,” the former senator added.
De Lima said she is now safe and sound but still suffering from a lingering pain on her chest where the hostage-taker constantly pressed the point of his knife while holding her hostage.
She also urged the public to pray for the injured police officer who was stabbed by one of the suspects.
“While I have survived with only a knife mark and some considerable distress, he is still fighting for his life. Let us all pray for his quick recovery,” de Lima said.
“While I am still trying to recover psychologically and emotionally from this harrowing experience, I am sure of one thing that I learned from it. Being so near death has only made me value life even more,” she added.
READ MORE: De Lima hostaged in Camp Crame jail
