MANILA, Philippines — After being acquitted in her third and final illegal drug case, former Senator Leila de Lima declared that former President Rodrigo Duterte will now be held accountable for the bloody “war on drugs” conducted during his administration.

“Isa lang po akong biktima. Libu-libong Pilipino ang pinaslang nila noong madugo at pekeng war on drugs. Maraming pamilya ang naulila, yung iba nga hindi nga pinatay ngunit nabubulok naman sila sa mga kulungan dahil sa mali at baluktot na pagpapatupad ng batas,” De Lima said during an ambush interview.

“Isa po ako sa nakadanas nyan na walang katuturang pagpapakulong,” De Lima stressed.

De Lima Determined to Help ICC vs. Duterte

De Lima also stated that now that she is no longer facing charges, she is even more determined to assist the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigation into Duterte’s “war on drugs.”

“Pagkatapos ng pitong taon, mas handa po akong ituloy ang laban. Siya ngayon ang mananagot (Duterte). Kailangan panagutin dahil wala namang nangyayari dito sa Pilipinas,” the former senator added.

The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 granted the former senator’s plea for demurrer to evidence on Monday, clearing her of the last drug accusation she faced.

“Thus, assessing the totality of the evidence presented by the prosecution, the Court is of the resolve and so holds that the prosecution was not able to prove the guilt of all the accused beyond reasonable doubt,” Presiding Judge Gener Gito wrote in the decision.

“WHEREFORE, for failure of the Prosecution to prove the guilt of all the accused beyond reasonable doubt, the respective Demurrer to Evidence filed by the accused are granted. Thus, Leila M. De Lima, Franklin Jesus B. Bucayu, Ronnie Palisoc Dayan, Joenel Tan Sanchez, and Jose Adrian Tiamson Dera are acquitted of the charge against them,” Judge Gito added.

A demurrer to evidence is filed after the prosecution finishes presenting its case. It is filed by the defendant on the grounds of insufficiency of evidence. If the court grants the demurrer to evidence, the defendant is acquitted.

Cleared of Other Charges

The former senator was granted bail in November 2023 after being held in Camp Crame since February 2017 due to drug-related charges.

She was first acquitted through demurrer to evidence in February 2021.

In May 2023, De Lima and her co-accused Ronnie Dayan were both acquitted of illegal drug trading due to the lack of merit of the prosecutions case.

Prosecution to Challenge Muntinlupa RTC’s Decision

Meanwhile, in a separate ambush interview with members of the press, Prosecutor Ramoncito Ocampo stated that the prosecution is still considering filing a motion for reconsideration or other legal remedies challenging the Muntinlupa RTC’s judgment.

Nevertheless, Ocampo stated that the prosecution is “happy” for the former senator because she was their former boss.

“It is still premature on our part; we have still yet to read the decision,… but it is still to be discussed,” Ocampo said.

As of this writing, the Department of Justice has not published a statement regarding the dismissal of De Lima’s case.

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