Dismissal of 3rd De Lima drug case a 'grave error,' says Panelo

Former presidential spokesperson and chief legal counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo on Tuesday said the court committed "grave error" when it dismissed the third and remaining drug case of former senator Leila de Lima.

In a statement, Panelo said the court considered the recantation of the testimonies against De Lima even though there is no evidence that the witnesses made their previous statements under duress or coercion, threats, or psychological pressure.

“No such evidence was presented before the court hence the previous testimonies of the recanting witnesses against De Lima should have not been disregarded. Moreover, there was credible evidence extant on the record for a conviction,” he said.

“The dismissal of the drug case therefore was in grave error it being contrary to the evidence and jurisprudence,” Panelo added.

Panelo served under the administration of Rodrigo Duterte, under which De Lima, then an opposition senator, was arrested and charged for allegedly benefiting from the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.

The Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 on Monday granted De Lima's demurrer to evidence, effectively dismissing her third and final drug case, after the prosecution failed to prove the guilt of all accused beyond reasonable doubt.

Aside from De Lima, also acquitted were former Corrections Director Franklin Bucayu, De Lima's former bodyguard Ronnie Dayan, Joenel Sanchez and Jad Dera. 

The former senator was freed on bail in November 2023 after being detained in Camp Crame since February 2017 over drug allegations.

READ: TIMELINE: De Lima’s road to vindication

7-year jail time 

For Panelo, De Lima’s jail time of nearly seven years can not be said to be an injustice but "a punishment for her persecution of former President Rodrigo Duterte when he was mayor of Davao City."

Panelo said De Lima, when she was the head of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), supposedly falsely accused Duterte over extrajudicial killings in the city. Such accusations against Duterte continued during her stint as Justice secretary, according to Panelo.

“The former senator should now move on and learn from the lessons of the past,” Panelo said.

De Lima's first acquittal came in February 2021 when the Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 205 junked one of her three cases. In May 2023, the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 acquitted her and Dayan of an illegal drug trading charge on the ground of reasonable doubt.

A Quezon City court also dismissed De Lima’s two disobedience cases.

De Lima also survived a hostage-taking incident inside the PNP Custodial Center in October 2022. —KBK, GMA Integrated News