De Lima files motion for case dismissal, immediate release

Detained former senator Leila de Lima has again filed a petition seeking the dismissal of the drug case against her as well as her immediate release, her camp announced Friday.

In a 33-page motion filed via email on Thursday, the camp of De Lima asked the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 to dismiss the case for lack of evidence, release De Lima and her former driver Ronnie Dayan, and/or grant them their right to bail.

The motion said that De Lima must be “spared from further inconvenience, expense, pain, anxiety, and the ignominy of prolonged trial proceedings” after former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos retracted his testimony.

Today marks De Lima’s sixth year in detention.

“At the very least, herein Accused should be granted her constitutional right to bail in light of the retraction of the only testimony offered by the Prosecution that supposedly directly links her to the offense charged,” the motion said.

The motion further said that Ragos’ retraction has destroyed the alleged sole evidence of the prosecution linking De Lima to the offense charged in the case.

“No room for doubt is left as to the fabricated and manufactured nature of his earlier testimony for the Prosecution regarding said delivery. Said delivery is nothing but a fictitious and imagined story,” it said.

In February 2021, the Muntinlupa  RTC Branch 205 junked one of the three drug cases against De Lima. The hearings for the two remaining cases are currently ongoing.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said he personally would not object to a possible bail plea from De Lima after urging them to file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

De Lima is accused of benefiting financially from the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison during her stint as Justice Secretary. She has repeatedly denied the allegation.—Joahna Lei Casilao/AOL, GMA Integrated News