De Lima deserves speedy trial, Hontiveros says after bail plea denial

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday aired her frustration over the junking of former Senator Leila de Lima’s bail plea, as she asserted that the former lawmaker is entitled to speedy trial under the 1987 Constitution.

“I am deeply frustrated over the prolonged detention of former Sen. Leila De Lima. She deserves a speedy trial as enshrined in our Constitution,” Hontiveros, a staunch supporter of De Lima, said in a statement.

“I cannot help [but] think about all the speedy trials of other prominent individuals recently, while Leila, who brought to light the abuses of the bloody drug war under the Duterte administration, is still languishing in jail for six years and counting,” she said.

Hontiveros expressed concern over the additional testimonies from “self-serving” sources, prompting her to call for an immediate end to what she said is a “travesty of justice.”

“It is also alarming that testimonies from self-serving sources are still being entertained here. Many of these false witnesses have already recanted their accusations against Leila, so why is her case still caught in the incredible lies and deception woven by these drug lords?” the opposition senator asked, as she reiterated her call to drop the charges against De Lima.

On Wednesday, De Lima’s lawyer Filibon Tacardon disclosed that Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 256 Presiding Judge Romeo Buenaventura denied De Lima's bail request for criminal case no. 67, the third and remaining case against the former senator.

The court said it did not find De Lima’s grounds for bail compelling and that her plea for provisional liberty on humanitarian considerations is “untenable.”

De Lima had pleaded for temporary freedom on the grounds that she is now a senior citizen and has several health issues which have necessitated several medical furloughs.

However, the court said that De Lima is "not suffering from any serious or life-threatening health condition."

De Lima, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, has been detained at Camp Crame since 2017 over allegations of involvement in the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison. She has repeatedly denied the charges.

In February 2021, Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 205 junked one of the three drug cases against De Lima. In May, Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 acquitted her in a second case. —Hana Bordey/KBK, GMA Integrated News