Philippine Court Rejects Bail For Ex-Senator Opposing Deadly Drug Campaign

On Wednesday, a Philippine court denied the bail application of a former opposition senator and justice secretary who had been critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s violent campaign against illegal drugs. Instead, the administration accused the senator of drug dealing, leading to her imprisonment over six years ago.

Prominent international legislators from the United States and Europe have called for the release of the former senator, Leila de Lima, aged 63. Her imprisonment gained further attention when she was taken hostage by three Muslim militants in a failed prison escape attempt last year.

Judge Romeo Buenaventura of the Manila Regional Trial Court denied the bail request of Leila de Lima, ruling against her argument that the prosecutors had not provided sufficient evidence to establish her involvement in a conspiracy with co-defendants and receiving illicit payments from drug transactions within the national penitentiary. De Lima had served as justice secretary, granting her authority over the country’s prison system.

“This court is convinced that there is a great probability that the crime charged has been committed and that the accused are the agents thereof,” Buenaventura said in his ruling.

The court characterized the hostage-taking incident involving de Lima at a detention center within the main camp of the Philippine National Police as “an isolated occurrence”.

The opposition leader also raised concerns about her poor health as part of her bail request. In response, the court suggested that she could instead request a furlough from the court to seek medical treatment.

De Lima has been in detention since 2017 on drug charges that she alleges were fabricated by Duterte and his officials to obstruct her Senate investigation into allegations of widespread extrajudicial killings during his anti-drug campaign. This campaign resulted in the deaths of thousands of primarily underprivileged suspects when Duterte was the mayor of Davao City and later became the president in 2016.

There were expectations that de Lima might be granted bail under Duterte’s successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., particularly after being acquitted in two other drug-related cases following the recantation of several witnesses who had made allegations against her.

De Lima’s legal team expressed their intention to appeal the court’s decision and criticized the prosecutor’s reliance on testimonies from criminals to build the case against her.

“We’re hoping that in our motion for reconsideration, the court will appreciate our position that the testimonies of convicted criminals will never be acceptable or could be trusted,” they said in a statement.

The court’s decision was criticized by Human Rights Watch, who stated that it “prolongs the injustice committed against her since more than six years ago.” Carlos Conde of HRW emphasized “This flies in the face of her previous court acquittal in two cases which clearly showed the political nature of her persecution.”

The drug killings during Duterte’s presidency triggered an investigation by the International Criminal Court as a potential crime against humanity. Duterte’s term concluded in June 2016, and he was succeeded by Marcos, whose running mate, Duterte’s daughter, won the vice presidency.