Court Denial on Bail Request of Leila De Lima Frustrates Risa Hontiveros
Senator Risa Hontiveros expresses frustration over the Muntinlupa City court denial of former senator Leila De Lima request for bail.
Hontiveros voiced her unhappiness with the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court’s rejection of De Lima’s motion for bail in connection with the ongoing narcotics case. Hontiveros noted in a statement that de Lima is entitled to a prompt trial under the Constitution.
“I cannot help think about all the speedy trials of other prominent individuals recently, while Leila, who brought to light the abuses of the bloody drug war under the Duterte administration, is still languishing in jail for six years and counting,” said Hontiveros.
“I call for an immediate and decisive end to this cycle of oppression. Stop this travesty of justice now!” she appealed.
The senator also expressed concern that testimonies from “self-serving sources” were still being received. Based on the report, she emphasized that this vicious tide of injustice against Leila had to cease for the sixth year in a row.
“Many of these false witnesses have already recanted their accusations against Leila, so why is her case still caught in the incredible lies and deception woven by these drug lords? Again, for the sixth year in a row, this ruthless tide of injustice against Leila must stop, and the trumped-up charges immediately dropped,” said Hontiveros.
“And to my fellow Filipinos and to all human rights advocates, let us ensure that justice is not just reserved for the powerful and privileged, and that in this country, justice is not just a fairy tale,” he added.
It should be noted that only this month, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court acquitted one of the two remaining narcotics cases filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against former de Lima in 2017. The court stated that it did not find De Lima’s bail grounds compelling and that her request for provisional release on humanitarian grounds is “untenable.”
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