Court Allows Former Senator Leila de Lima To Post Bail
Former Senator Leila de Lima being allowed to post bail is a victory for her camp but it does not erase the fact that she already lost at least a five-year time.
In 2017, then Senator Leila de Lima was arrested by the authorities over drug allegations. She was accused of being involved in the trade during her time as the secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Former Sen. De Lima was the justice secretary during the term of the late former President Noynoy Aquino. Prior to her term as the DOJ Secretary, she investigated several issues involving then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
In 2016, De Lima ran for a post in the Senate and won the election that hailed the former Davao City Mayor as the country’s President following a landslide victory. It is no secret to the public that the two (2) politicians are at loggerheads.
There were several occasions when Duterte and De Lima exchanged heated statements on television. Amid the drug allegations against her, the former Senator believed that it was political persecution on her part for being an opposition.
Currently, former Sen. De Lima is facing the last of the three (3) drug cases filed against her. The first acquitted case was in February 2021 and it was followed by the acquittal of another case in May 2023. Witnesses against the former Senator recanted their initial testimonies with some of them claiming they were only forced to do it.
The issues surrounding the cases against former Senator Leila de Lima is undeniably way too deep and no one not directly involved can say all the right things about it. However, it is my humble opinion that all those who reversed their claims against the former Senator must be investigated. Those who claimed they were only forced to pin her down must admit all the truth that would shed light on the issue.
Recently, the Court allowed former Sen. Leila de Lima to post bail. It is a victory for the former Senator and her camp after more than five (5) years of her being detained. However, truth be told that while the ray of light at the end of the tunnel can be seen, the former Senator already lost five years to constant battles after testimonies that were later on twisted pinned her down.
I believe that the allegations against the former Senator must be deeply probed but, at the same time, the changing statements of the witnesses must also be investigated. Like the former Senator who lost years due to the issue, anyone who is involved in this huge issue must face what he/she has to face as well.
We must be all equal before the law. If the former Senator is proven guilty and has to be sentenced for years behind the bars, then the Court will surely handle it. But the investigations should always look at things in all angles possible.
Disclaimer: The content of the article posted above is an opinion of the writer. Also, the citations provided are based on the information deemed as facts by the different legit sources that contribute to the basis of the making of the whole viewpoint. The writer does not, in any form, intend to create inaccurate understanding of the topic or influence the readers instead, express one’s viewpoint in a formal manner.