Detained Senator De Lima faces repercussions due to Court of Appeals decision
Rewritten Article:
Senator Leila de Lima lashes out at the Court of Appeals (CA) for reconsidering her acquittal in a drug case, branding the decision as puzzling and confusing.
In a statement, De Lima, her lawyer, expressed bafflement over the CA's decision to overturn the acquittal granted by the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) in the initial drug case against her.
"This decision seems odd because the CA allegedly clarified the RTC decision due to its supposed lack of clarity," De Lima remarked.
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"We believe that all responses to the CA's questions regarding their decision can be found in the case records. It's possible that we might need to resubmit parts of the records that address their specific questions in our motion for reconsideration," De Lima's legal team added.
De Lima asserted that the CA did not officially reverse her acquittal; they merely passed the case back to the CA itself for review.
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"In our opinion, the RTC's decision is already clear. We view this as an issue of clarification and explanation rather than a complete overturning of the decision by the CA," De Lima's team stated.
De Lima reassured the public that the CA's decision would not impede her plans to return to public service.
The senator is the inaugural nominee of the Liberal Party (LP) for the party-list, securing the 14th spot according to preliminary and unofficial results in the 2025 national and local elections with 97.37% of the votes counted so far.
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She has been nominated to join the prosecution team for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
De Lima has been in detention since February 2017 for alleged involvement in illegal drug activities during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Three drug cases have been filed against her, all of which have been dismissed.
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Insights:
- The CA's decision was questioned for its interpretation and the legal basis for the reversal, with the Department of Justice stating that the CA did not reverse the acquittal per se, but remanded the case for a new decision[2].
- The CA based their decision on claims that the RTC committed grave abuse of discretion by heavily relying on the retraction of key witness Rafael Ragos without thoroughly considering the implications for other evidence[1][4].
- The CA's decision was criticized for calling for a re-evaluation of the case based on their guidelines, which some argue does not effectively overturn the acquittal but rather initiates a re-evaluation[5].
- De Lima and her legal team have expressed their intent to file a motion for reconsideration and, if necessary, appeal to the Supreme Court[4].
Politics and general news are abuzz following Senator Leila de Lima's remarks on the Court of Appeals (CA) decision to reconsider her acquittal in a drug case. As a nominee for the Liberal Party in the 2025 elections, De Lima asserts that the CA's decision, although not a formal reversal of the acquittal, will not impede her plans to return to public service.
