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DOJ to withdraw appeal on de Lima acquittal
WILLING WITNESS. Former senator Leila De Lima testifies before the House of Representatives quad committee hearing on Oct.
22, 2024. She is prepared to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, her legal counsel Dino de Leon said on Tuesday (March 18, 2025). (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)
By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency
MANILA – State prosecutors will withdraw the motion for reconsideration (MR) they earlier filed asking the Muntinlupa court to take a second look at the acquittal of Makabayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima in a drug- related charge, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Wednesday.
In a message to reporters, Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon confirmed that prosecutors will withdraw the appeal.
“It should not have been filed in the first place,” Fadullon said, citing that pursuing the MR would be a case of “double jeopardy.“
He added that the DOJ will “take one step at a time” over de Lima’s call to sanction prosecutors who filed the appeal questioning her acquittal.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier described the appeal as “foolishness” on the part of the trial prosecutors.
Meanwhile, de Lima thanked the DOJ for its decision to withdraw the appeal.
“I thank and commend SOJ Remulla for bringing sense and order… While it is good to hear, 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 in a statement.
“The panel of prosecutors, or at least some of them, are acting on the basis of a political agenda. They should be made to account for what they have done.”
