Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday aired her frustration over the junking of former Senator Leila de Lima’s bail plea, as she asserted that the previous lawmaker is entitled to speedy trial below the 1987 Constitution.
“I am deeply frustrated over the prolonged detention of former Sen. Leila De Lima. She deserves a speedy trial as enshrined in our Constitution,” Hontiveros, a staunch supporter of De Lima, stated in a press release.
“I cannot help [but] 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,” she stated.
Hontiveros expressed concern over the extra testimonies from “self-serving” sources, prompting her to name for an instantaneous finish to what she stated is a “travesty of justice.”
“It is also alarming that testimonies from self-serving sources are still being entertained here. 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?” the opposition senator requested, as she reiterated her name to drop the fees in opposition to De Lima.
On Wednesday, De Lima’s lawyer Filibon Tacardon disclosed that Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 256 Presiding Judge Romeo Buenaventura denied De Lima’s bail request for legal case no. 67, the third and remaining case in opposition to the previous senator.
The court docket stated it didn’t discover De Lima’s grounds for bail compelling and that her plea for provisional liberty on humanitarian issues is “untenable.”
De Lima had pleaded for non permanent freedom on the grounds that she is now a senior citizen and has a number of well being points which have necessitated a number of medical furloughs.
However, the court docket stated that De Lima is “not suffering from any serious or life-threatening health condition.”
De Lima, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, has been detained at Camp Crame since 2017 over allegations of involvement within the unlawful drug commerce contained in the New Bilibid Prison. She has repeatedly denied the fees.
In February 2021, Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 205 junked one of many three drug circumstances in opposition to De Lima. In May, Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 acquitted her in a second case. —Hana Bordey/KBK, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
