After spending six years in detention, Leila De Lima, a former senator and vocal critic of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte’s "war on drugs," has been acquitted of one of two remaining criminal charges against her. The case stems from allegations made by Duterte that she received payoffs from convicted drug lords to fund her 2016 senatorial bid. De Lima, who was also a former justice minister, was acquitted along with another defendant "on the ground of reasonable doubt," according to the ruling by regional trial court judge Abraham Alcantara.
De Lima's arrest in 2017 on drug charges she and her supporters argue are fabricated and politically motivated came a few months after she launched a senate investigation into Duterte’s drug war. Duterte launched his drug war soon after taking office in 2016. According to police data, more than 6,000 people have been killed in anti-drug operations since then. Many of the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug offenders have occurred in the poorest areas of the country. However, independent monitors believe that the number of those killed could be much higher.
Human rights activists have long criticized De Lima's detention, pointing out that she has not been convicted on any of the charges laid against her. They characterize her treatment as emblematic of a deteriorating rights situation in a country where political activists and the media often face threats, harassment, and even death simply for doing their jobs.
Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Southeast Asia researcher for Amnesty International, said, "De Lima should never have spent a day in prison, but instead she’s languished there for six years. The government must urgently give her the freedom and justice she deserves after such an appalling ordeal." In January, the International Criminal Court said it would revive its investigation into possible "crimes against humanity" over Duterte’s drug war. The Hague-based court initially announced plans for an investigation in February 2018 but suspended them in November 2021 at the request of Manila after it said it was undertaking its review.
However, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who succeeded Duterte last year, has said the country will "disengage" from any contact with the ICC, as Manila does not recognize its authority over matters of national sovereignty. Despite the court's latest dismissal, De Lima is seeking bail for a third drug case and will remain in detention. She said on Twitter, "That’s already two cases down, and one more to go. I am of course happy that with this second acquittal in the three cases filed against me, my release from more than six years of persecution draws nearer."