Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 15) — Former senator Leila de Lima will make sure that all those responsible for pressuring witnesses to speak against her will be held liable, her legal counsel said Monday.
“All of these people should be held into account that has always been the stand of Sen. Leila de Lima,” Dino de Leon, legal counsel of De Lima, told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
On May 12, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 204 acquitted De Lima in one of her two remaining drug cases filed against her by the Duterte administration.
She was allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison, which she used to fund her 2016 senatorial bid.
The recantation of former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos was vital in the acquittal, De Lima’s camp said.
Ragos claimed he was coerced by former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who was appointed by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Aquirre denied the allegation.
Aside from Ragos, self-confessed drug dealer Kerwin Espinosa, De Lima’s former bodyguard Ronnie Dayan, and another government witness Marcelo Adorco have recanted their allegations against De Lima.
“For Sen. Leila de Lima, the battle is bigger than her political career, the battle is bigger than herself. And that is the reason why despite the fact that she already forgave all her persecutors, she will have to hold them into account,” De Leon said.
