Pinasalamatan ni Senator Leila de Lima si House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sa pagtatalaga noon sa kanya bilang chairperson ng Commission on Human Rights (CHR), dahil sa pamamagitan nito ay namulat siya sa pagtataguyod sa karapatang pantao.

Sa kanyang acceptance speech, na binasa ng kanyang anak na si Israel, para sa iginawad sa kanyang Prize for Freedom Award mula sa Liberal International (LI), labis ding pinasalamatan ni de Lima si dating

Pangulong Corazon Aquino at anak nitong si dating Pangulong Benigno Aquino III bilang tatlong dating presidente ng bansa na kabilang sa marami na “laid the foundation” kontra extrajudicial killings “long before I entered the public service”.

“I acknowledge the role of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in setting me on this path, when she appointed me back in 2008, as Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights. It was during a critical time during her Administration, when the human rights record of the Philippine Government was sounding an alarm all over the world,” saad sa written speech ng senadora.

Sa panahon ni Arroyo inimbestigahan ni de Lima si noon ay Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte hinggil sa extrajudicial killings sa siyudad.

-Leonel M. Abasola