After Acquittal, Leila De Lima Now Targets Prosecutors
LEILA DE LIMA – After years of legal battles and a hard-fought acquittal, former senator Leila de Lima is preparing to strike back—this time against the very prosecutors who once pursued her.
Mamamayang Liberal party-list Representative Leila de Lima is contemplating filing charges against Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors for their recent move to overturn her acquittal in her drug-related cases. Her legal counsel, Dino de Leon, revealed the potential action during an interview on One News’ Storycon.
De Leon strongly criticized the DOJ’s attempt to reverse the court’s ruling, calling it an “abuse” of the justice system. “This is now the most expensive frame-up in Philippine history, and it is time to hold the panel of prosecutors accountable,” he stated, labeling the move as “third jeopardy.”
He also emphasized the legal inappropriateness of the DOJ’s motion: “Even a first-year law student knows that an acquittal is not a subject of a motion for reconsideration. That is explicitly prohibited in the rules of criminal procedure.”
De Leon questioned whether the motion had the required clearance from higher authorities, including the prosecutor general and the Office of the Solicitor General. “This is clearly a violation of our oath. This is, to us, prosecutorial misconduct,” he said. “And they’re leaving (former) senator Leila de Lima without any other recourse but to pursue charges against them.”
De Lima expressed her frustration, stating, “I don’t understand what the prosecution is trying to do! Put me in triple jeopardy after nearly 7 years in unjust detention? What they’re doing is not funny. It’s infuriating.”
The DOJ’s motion has sparked criticism from several lawmakers and progressive groups. The Makabayan bloc described it as a “real witch hunt.” Kabataan party-list Representative Renee Co argued, “It has been proven twice in court that the case against De Lima is trumped up to silence her because of her investigation of Duterte’s fake drug war.”
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) also denounced the motion, calling it an act of political vindictiveness. “Instead of taking accountability and moving to correct this historic injustice, the DOJ now seeks to prolong De Lima’s ordeal,” said Bayan chairman Teodoro Casiño.
Calls for justice continue to mount as critics urge the courts and the Marcos administration to uphold De Lima’s acquittal and end the continued harassment of political dissenters.
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