MANILA, Philippines — Allies of former Sen. Leila de Lima hailed Friday her acquittal in one of two remaining drug cases against her a “victory of truth” as they shared her hope that she is getting closer to freedom after more than six years of detention.
“This is a victory of truth after more than six years of defamation and lies against Sen. Leila, whose only sin was her courage to stand up for what is right,” said former Vice President Leni Robredo in a statement in Filipino, adding that she was confident of De Lima’s innocence from the start.
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“Despite the six years that she was persecuted and oppressed, I stand by that the day will come that she will regain her freedom and good name,” Robredo said.
Former Sen. Francis Pangilinan also welcomed De Lima’s acquittal in the drug case, which he said was based on “fabricated” evidence.
“From the first day of her detention, our position is that all the allegations against Leila are untrue and are not by even a little bit of real evidence,” Pangilinan said in Filipino in a statement.
Robredo and Pangilinan ran for president and vice-president, respectively, in the 2022 polls and included De Lima in their senatorial slate as she mounted a re-election bid from detention.
Former Sen. Franklin Drilon said in an interview on CNN Philippines that the accusations against De Lima are false and fabricated, adding that charges can be filed against Duterte administration officials who initiated her prosecution.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, said the “false narrative” and “web of lies” that led to her former colleague’s imprisonment are being undone.
“The real crime has always been her arrest,” Hontiveros said. “Justice for former Sen. Leila will be completed when the sinister plot to put her in jail only for speaking out for the truth and welfare of our fellow Filipinos, is fully exposed in daylight.”
She added that De Lima is owed a speedy acquittal in the final drug case that she is facing.
Former Sen. Richard Gordon, who was a guest candidate on the Robredo-Pangilinan Senate slate, also said De Lima deserves a quick trial as he called her lengthy detention a violation of her right to speedy disposition of cases.
Another former senatorial candidate on the Robredo-Pangilinan ticket, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, said on Twitter: “Freedom is near, Sen. Leila. Redemption and vindication are next.”
While De Lima’s allies have celebrated her acquittal, incumbent senators — some of whom she has worked with — were mostly silent about the much-awaited verdict.
The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 dismissed Friday the drug case against De Lima largely due to the recantation of the prosecution’s star witness who admitted to fabricating his allegations.