US welcomes De Lima acquittal, says all politically-motivated cases should be resolved

The US on Tuesday welcomed the acquittal of the final drug case of former Senator Leila de Lima, clearing her of all drug charges after seven years.

“The US welcomes the acquittal of former Philippine Senator Leila de Lima on the final criminal charge against her,” US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“This decision follows her release on bail in November 2023 after nearly seven years of detention and her acquittal on two separate politically motivated criminal charges,” Miller added.

On Monday, the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 granted the demurrer for failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt of all accused beyond reasonable doubt. This comes after De Lima filed her demurrer in March, where she asked the court to acquit and declare her not guilty for failure of the prosecution to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

“The US remains committed to working with the Philippines to strengthen democracy and human rights around the world. We continue to urge the Philippines to resolve politically motivated cases, including those against journalists and civil society, in a manner consistent with its international human rights obligations and commitments,” the US State Department added.

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

Her 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 De Lima and Ronnie Dayan, her co-accused and former bodyguard, of an illegal drug trading charge on the ground of reasonable doubt.

Earlier, a Quezon City court dismissed De Lima’s two disobedience cases earlier.

Following the court ruling, De Lima described the development as “very liberating.”

“With the grant of our demurrer to evidence, which is tantamount to acquittal, that means I am now completely free and vindicated. It's very liberating,” De Lima said.

“I respected the rule of law despite the pain and the injustice of it all. I confronted the charges head on and I went through and endured the whole process,” she added.

Full freedom, vindication

For its part, Amnesty International hailed the case dismissal as “full freedom and vindication.”

“De Lima’s acquittal in this last outstanding case is long overdue, and every day she spent in jail until her temporary release in November 2023 was a gross injustice,” said Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for Research Montse Ferrer.

“Today’s dismissal of the last drug-related allegation against her is a clear rejection of concerted government efforts to silence her and undermine her human rights work,” Ferrer added.

The human rights group called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to ensure an “enabling environment” for human rights defenders and to “impartially and effectively investigate those responsible for the unfounded allegations against de Lima that led to her arbitrary detention and the other human rights violations she has endured – and continues to endure – and bring them to justice in fair trials.”

“The government must work towards what de Lima, Amnesty International and many other human rights defenders have been tirelessly calling for: an end to the continuing unlawful killings and other violations in the ‘war on drugs’, accountability for the perpetrators and justice for the thousands of victims and their families,” Ferrer added. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News