Philippine Court Acquits Critic of Duterte’s Drug War After 6 Years in Jail

This marks Leila de Lima’s second acquittal of three drug-related charges

Then-Philippine opposition Senator Leila de Lima arrives at a regional trial court for a brief personal appearance in Paranaque city, southeast of Manila, Philippines, on Feb. 24, 2017. (AP Photo)

Former Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, a vocal critic of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, was acquitted Friday in the second drug-related charge against her after serving six years in jail.

De Lima, 63, was arrested in 2017 on drug-related charges after she launched a senate investigation into violations committed during Duterte’s “war on drugs,” which human rights groups said may amount to “crimes against humanity.”

A Philippine court has cleared her from Duterte’s allegations that she took payments from jailed drug lords while serving as the country’s justice minister from 2010 to 2015 under then-leader Benigno Aquino, local media reported.

Prosecution witnesses retracted their testimony against de Lima after Duterte’s presidential term ended last year, claiming government officials had forced them to testify against her.

“I have no doubt from the very beginning that I will be acquitted from all the cases the Duterte regime has fabricated against me based on the merits and strength of my innocence,” de Lima stated on Twitter.

This marks her second acquittal following the court’s dismissal of the first drug charge in 2021. The human rights defender has one remaining illegal drug trading charge for which she has requested bail.

“That’s already two cases down and one more to go,” she said. “I am of course happy that with this second acquittal in the three cases filed against me, my release from more than six years of persecution draws nearer.”

Amnesty International has urged Philippine authorities to drop the remaining charge against de Lima and expedite her bail application in this pending case so she can reunite with her family.

Montse Ferrer, interim deputy regional director for research at Amnesty, said de Lima’s acquittal was “long-overdue” given the six years of arbitrary detention and other human rights violations she has endured.

“She should not have spent a single day in jail, and it is now time to provide adequate reparations for the human rights violations she has suffered,” Ferrer said in a statement.

‘Politically-Motivated Charges’

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), has called for the immediate release of de Lima and urged Philippine authorities to drop all “politically-motivated” charges against her.

“Today’s acquittal demonstrates again the bogus, harassing nature of the charges against de Lima,” Robertson stated on Twitter.

“Freeing her now is critical so she can return to her family, leaving the injustice of years behind bars in pre-trial detention caused by Duterte’s vengeful cruelty,” he added.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte holds a Galil sniper rifle with outgoing Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald dela Rosa (L) during the change of command ceremony at Camp Crame in Manila on April 19, 2018. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images)

According to HRW’s 2017 report, Duterte’s war on drugs had resulted in the deaths of more than 12,000 Filipinos, with the Philippine National Police being responsible for 2,555 of them.

While there was no evidence that Duterte ordered specific extrajudicial killings, his repeated calls for killings as part of the campaign could constitute acts instigating law enforcement to commit murder, HRW stated.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) began a full investigation into the campaign in September 2021, but it was later suspended after the Philippines pledged to undertake its own investigation. In June 2022, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan called for the ICC probe to restart.

Duterte’s successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said on March 28 that he’s decided to cut ties with the ICC after the court denied the government’s appeal to cease its probe.

“[The Philippines] cannot cooperate with the ICC, considering the very serious questions about their jurisdiction and about what we consider to be interference and practically attacks on the sovereignty of the republic,” Marcos said.

The ICC stated it rejected the Philippines’ appeal as there was a lack of “persuasive reasons” for the court to halt the investigation.