Completely free: Leila De Lima cleared of third and final drug charge
Former senator Leila De Lima has been cleared of all the drug charges against her after a Muntinlupa court granted her demurrer to evidence on June 24.
Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 206 cleared De Lima's third and final drug charge of conspiracy to commit drug trading following her filing of demurrer to evidence last March.
A demurrer to evidence is a motion in which the defendant asserts that the evidence presented by the plaintiff is insufficient to warrant a conviction. It seeks to dismiss the case without the defendant having to present their own evidence.
Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 206 is the same court that granted De Lima bail in November 2023 after over six years in police detention.
De Lima's camp noted that almost all the important evidence was presented during her bail hearing. The court had declared that such evidence was unable to prove her alleged complicity in the drug case when it granted her bail.
Prosecutors Ramoncito Ocampo and Darwin Cañete, meanwhile, said they will look into the possibility of filing a motion for reconsideration of the court's decision. Nevertheless, they told De Lima to enjoy her "unmitigated freedom."
"We are not discounting the possibility of filing proper legal remedies," Ocampo said.
In February 2021, Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 205 dismissed one of De Lima's three drug cases.
In May 2023, Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 204 cleared her name in another drug case after former Bureau of Corrections chief Rafael Ragos retracted his statements against De Lima, creating "reasonable doubt" over the accusations against her.
In an ambush interview with reporters, De Lima said she feels "free and vindicated" following the court's decision.
"Napakalaki ng ginhawa at saya ang nararamdaman ko ngayon. With the grant of our demurrer to evidence, which is tantamount to acquittal, that means I am not completely free and vindicated. It's very liberating," De Lima told reporters.
She also sent a strong warning to former president Duterte, saying he will be the one to "pay for his crimes."
"Siya ngayon ang mananagot, kailangan panagutin dahil wala namang nangyayari dito sa Pilipinas. Kaunting kaunti lang ang napo-prosecute at naco-convict," she said, adding that she has been helping the International Criminal Court's (ICC) in the crimes against humanity case against the former president in connection with the drug war killings.
The former senator also vowed to continue the fight against injustices, oppression, and violation of human rights.
Acquitted in two disobedience cases
Earlier in the day, Quezon City RTC Branch 76 also acquitted De Lima in two disobedience cases.
The QC RTC granted her petition for certiorari, a request to review another court's decision, against the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court which had junked her motion to dismiss the disobedience cases.
The disobedience cases, filed by the late lawmaker Reynaldo Umali, accused De Lima of "inducing" Dayan to ignore the subpoena to attend the House Committee on Justice hearing on the illegal drug trade in 2016.
To date, De Lima has been cleared in all of her cases.
De Lima served five years of her six-year term as senator in police detention, starting on Feb. 24, 2017, during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.
She was one of Duterte’s fiercest critics amid his bloody war on drugs or Oplan Tokhang. As then-commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights in 2009, she launched an investigation into the "death squad" killings allegedly orchestrated by Duterte during his time as Davao City mayor and in the early days of his presidency.
After winning a Senate seat in the 2016 elections that also swept populist Duterte to power, De Lima became one of the few opposition voices.
Duterte then accused her of running a drug trafficking ring with criminals when she was justice secretary, forcing her from the Senate and into a jail cell.
De Lima lost her bid for re-election in May 2022 after campaigning from behind bars.
While in jail, De Lima has suffered various health problems, including a pelvic organ prolapse that required surgery.
In October 2022, she was briefly taken hostage during an attempted breakout by three detained militants.
Throughout the legal proceedings, De Lima has insisted the charges against her had been trumped up in retaliation for going after Duterte and his drug war.
In the meantime, the former justice secretary is mulling over going back to practicing law in a "limited capacity" while also helping the Liberal Party, of which she serves as spokesperson.
She noted that she has no plans yet to run for senator in the 2025 midterm elections. (with reports from Daphne Galvez)
