The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) welcomes the dismissal of all the drug-related cases against Leila de Lima, former Philippine senator and now spokesperson of the Liberal Party (LP) of the Philippines, a CALD full member-party.
In a decision released on 24 June 2024, the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 206 – the same court that granted de Lima bail in November 2023 – cleared the former senator of the third and last charge of conspiracy to commit drug trading. The dismissal came in the form of a grant to the demurrer to evidence. A demurrer to evidence is “filed by the defense when they are confident that the prosecution’s presentation of evidence was weak enough that they don’t have to present their own.”
It must be remembered that the two other cases against de Lima were also dismissed in February 2021 and May 2023 for lack of merit. The trial of her cases was also marked by a number of recantations of testimonies of key prosecution witnesses, as well as inhibitions and early retirement of presiding judges.
The dismissal of all the charges against de Lima proved that human rights organizations and activists have been correct all along – that the cases filed were fabricated and politically motivated. Through the years, CALD has released a number of resolutions and statements calling for de Lima’s immediate and unconditional release as the charges were clearly part of the Duterte administration’s political vendetta against her.
Members of the CALD Women’s Caucus were also able to visit de Lima when she was still in the early months of her detention in August 2017. In a strongly worded statement that time, the Women’s Caucus described the charges as “a case of political persecution resulting from Senator De Lima’s staunch opposition to extra-judicial killings, and her continuing detention is a travesty of justice. At the very least, she should be allowed to post bail given the weakness of the evidence against her.”
While the dismissal of all cases against de Lima should be celebrated, this should also be a reminder to exact accountability from all those who conspired to put the former senator behind bars on trumped up charges. This is to prevent the weaponization of the justice system against political opponents in the future, and for rule of law to be free from the political whims of the incumbent.
CALD also calls on the Marcos administration to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigations of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on drug war-related killings – an issue that cost de Lima her freedom for seven years. De Lima’s vindication would not be complete unless the victims of the drug war also get the justice that they so rightfully deserve.
For the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats
Mardi Seng |
Categorised in: Statements
This post was written by CALD
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