Free but Not Finished Fighting: Exclusive Q&A With Leila de Lima
TimeNov 23, 2023
Philippines: Fierce Duterte Critic Leila de Lima Cleared of All Charges
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The Facts
Former Philippine senator and justice minister Leila de Lima has been acquitted of all criminal charges, concluding years-long legal battles for one of the fiercest critics of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and his drug war.
This comes as a regional trial court in Muntinlupa ruled on Monday that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove her guilty in a third and final count of conspiring to commit drug trading.
The Spin
Narrative A
Leila de Lima has at last been fully vindicated from nothing-but-bogus, politically-motivated charges for which she spent years in custody until late last year. Though it's great news that this miscarriage of justice is now over, an investigation into her arbitrary detention is needed to restore the credibility of the Philippine judicial system.
Narrative B
The acquittal of Leila de Lima on charges that put her behind bars doesn't mean that her supporters at home and abroad were right to insult the judiciary in the meantime. After all, it was she who previously argued that former Pres. Gloria Arroyo's continued detention was part of the independent judicial process and did not violate her human rights.