Prosecutors withdraw appeal of De Lima’s acquittal in drug case
A panel of prosecutors on Wednesday withdrew its motion seeking to reverse former Sen. Leila de Lima’s acquittal in a drug case on Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon’s order.
“The Prosecution … after consultation and upon instructions of the Honorable Prosecutor General, most respectfully moves for the withdrawal of the motion for reconsideration dated 14 July 2025,” read the panel’s motion dated July 23.
Earlier in the day, Fadullon said he had instructed the panel “to immediately cause the withdrawal of the [motion for reconsideration]” after conferring with Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
“It should not have been filed in the first place,” Fadullon told reporters in a message, citing double jeopardy as among the grounds for the withdrawal of the motion.
The panel, led by Provincial Prosecutor Ramoncito Bienvenido Ocampo Jr., earlier asked the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 to reconsider its May 2023 resolution acquitting De Lima of charges of drug trading inside the national penitentiary.
The prosecutors had argued that other pieces of evidence were sufficient to prove the charge against De Lima even after their principal witness—Rafael Ragos, former officer in charge of the Bureau of Corrections—recanted.
De Lima was cleared in two other drug trafficking cases—in February 2021 by the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 205 and June 2024 by Branch 206. She was released on bail in November 2023 after spending six years in detention at the national police headquarters.
The prosecutors moved for the reconsideration of her acquittal in Branch 204, but this was denied.
In September 2024, the Office of Solicitor General (OSG) filed a petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals, citing grave abuse of discretion. The appellate court granted the OSG’s petition and remanded the case to Branch 204 which later reaffirmed its ruling, prompting the Ocampo-led panel to file a second motion for reconsideration.
‘Foolish’
Remulla called the prosecutors “foolish” for filing the motion. He said he had told Fadullon to “stop the foolishness of these people under us because they are following a political agenda, not a legal agenda.”
“We will take over the case and it will be dismissed eventually,” he said in an interview with the Philippine Business and News.
The panel also included City Prosecutors Blas Tuliao and Laurence Joel Taliping; Deputy City Prosecutors Leilia Llanes, Evangeline Viudez-Canobas and Darwin Cañete; and Senior Assistant City Prosecutors Rudy Ricamora Jr., John Quincy Carandang, Wendell Bendoval and Alfred Joseph Jamora.
“Let’s take things one step at a time,” Fadullon said when asked about the course of action against the prosecutors.
Investigation sought
In a post on Facebook commending Remulla’s order to the prosecutors to withdraw their motion, De Lima wrote: “… the question remains as to what should be done with these prosecutors who have abused our justice system for far too long.”
“I call on the justice department to properly investigate and sanction them,’’ she said, agreeing with Remulla’s observation that the panel was acting on the “basis of a political agenda.”
“In so far as my case is concerned, they still answer to the Duterte cabal, like many in the government who are still loyal to FPRRD,’’ she added, referring to former President Rodrigo Duterte who is now detained at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands, for crimes against humanity over his crackdown on drug suspects.
De Lima is one of the incoming House members in the 20th Congress as the representative of the Mamamayang Liberal party list group.
