DE LIMA VOWS TO APPEAL CA DECISION ON ACQUITTAL

Congresswoman-elect and former senator Leila de Lima vowed to appeal the Court of Appeals (CA) decision voiding a Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court ruling that acquitted her in a drug case in 2023, expressing puzzlement over the CA's move.

- By JONATHAN HICAP

"Nabasa na namin ang desisyon ng Court of Appeals na ibalik sa Regional Trial Court ang isa sa mga kaso kung saan na-acquit na ako. Kataka-taka itong desisyon na ito na mistulang pinapaulit ng CA ang pagkasulat ng desisyon ng RTC dahil daw hindi ito masyadong malinaw," De Lima said in a statement.

The CA nullified the May 12, 2024 decision of Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara of Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204, which acquitted De Lima and her co-accused Ronnie Dayan, and the July 6, 2023 ruling, which denied the prosecution's motion for reconsideration, in case 17-165.

De Lima and Dayan were initially charged with conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading, one of the three cases filed in 2017 during the Duterte administration. All three cases were dismissed, including the one voided by the CA.