LP: No plan yet to join forces vs Dutertes

MANILA, Philippines — The Liberal Party has no plans yet to join forces with other groups against the Duterte family in the May 2025 midterm elections, according to former senator and LP spokesperson Leila de Lima.

“Yes, at the moment, LP has no such plan,” she told The STAR yesterday.

“(The LP hopes) to expand our base, do active recruitment of members and/or alliances with like-minded groups, revitalize our chapters,” she noted.

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV earlier said the Marcos administration could unite with non-traditional allies, including the so-called “pink” forces of the independent opposition, as the Dutertes aim to return to power.

On June 25, Vice President Sara Duterte said that former president Rodrigo Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte intend to run for the Senate in 2025.

Sebastian would run for president in 2028.

De Lima earlier said the Dutertes’ announcement could not be serious and was likely a mere display of power and show of force.

It could also be a diversionary tactic, she noted, amid the House of Representatives’ decision to summon the former president and former police chief and now Sen. Ronald dela Rosa in its probe into extrajudicial killings during the previous administration’s war on drugs.

The LP will work hard to bring the party closer to the people, strengthen its social media presence and prepare for the 2025 polls, De Lima said.

As for her plans after being cleared of all drug charges, De Lima said she is not planning on running for office.

“I will continue to engage in issues of significance and pursue my core advocacies: human rights, social justice, rule of law, accountability and national sovereignty,” she said.

“I will continue to push for justice and accountability for the drug war killings. Will work to attain full justice and vindication for the wrongs inflicted upon my person, honor, dignity and liberty,” she added.

After almost six years in prison, a Muntinlupa court granted on June 24 De Lima’s demurrer to evidence on her third and last charge of conspiracy to commit drug trading.

This meant that the prosecution failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

The drug charges, filed during the Duterte administration and which De Lima has consistently claimed were trumped up and politically motivated, had put the former senator in jail for most of her term.

Her lawyers are studying all options, the specific cases to be filed against whom and where to file them, De Lima said.

Justice system working

De Lima’s acquittal showed that the Philippines’ judiciary is working properly, President Marcos said yesterday, as he maintained that the International Criminal Court does not have jurisdiction over the country.

“Maybe this is something we should show the ICC. The judiciary is working properly. Our investigative services are working properly and former senator De Lima has been acquitted... She underwent trial and she was acquitted,” Marcos told reporters on the sidelines of the National Employment Summit in Manila.

Asked if De Lima’s acquittal would change her stance on the ICC’s jurisdiction over the drug war, Marcos said, “I don’t see what one thing has to do with the other.”

“She has said that she would like to help the ICC. But that’s between her and the ICC. We still stay with our position that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the Philippines because we have a working police force, we have a working judiciary and do not require any assistance in that regard,” Marcos maintained.

In 2021, an ICC pre-trial chamber authorized an investigation into Duterte’s war on drugs.

After her acquittal, De Lima warned Duterte that he would “pay for his crimes.”