‘Laban lang:’ De Lima vows to continue fight in court case

Sen. Leila de Lima. (FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Leila de Lima vowed to continue fighting despite being detained, uttering the words “laban lang” (fight on) during the hearing of one drug-related case against her on Monday.

According to de Lima’s communication team, De Lima physically attended the hearing of the case at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Brach 256 — which was reset by the court because the prosecution failed to present their witness.

De Lima’s lawyer Rolly Francis Peoro said that witness Joel Capones was not able to attend the hearing because of “high risk security concerns.”

“These were the words expressed by re-electionist Senator Leila M. de Lima when she attended the resumption of hearing of one of the two remaining trumped-up illegal drug charges against her earlier today (April 25) at the Muntinlupa [RTC], Branch 256,” de Lima’s office said in a statement.

“According to Atty. Rolly Francis Peoro, Senator De Lima’s legal counsel, the Court had to reset the hearing after the New Bilibid Prison  (NBP) stated that they could not physically present their inmate, convicted murderer Joel Capones, because of what they claimed as ‘high-risk security concerns,’” they added.

De Lima’s camp wanted the witness to be presented before the court instead of just submitting a sworn affidavit, so that they could observe the witness give his side.

“De Lima’s panel insisted that as part of the Senator’s Constitutional rights, it is critical that they be able to observe the demeanor of the witness to assess the truthfulness of his testimony and avoid miscarriage of justice,” the senator’s office said.

“The next hearing will be on May 30,” they added.

De Lima, who is seeking reelection in the 2022 general elections, has been detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City after she was arrested in 2017 on accusations that she benefitted from the drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP)

Administration officials including no less than President Rodrigo Duterte himself claimed that de Lima allowed illegal drugs to proliferate while sitting as justice secretary, who is in charge of the Bureau of Corrections and the NBP.

The senator however claimed it was just a case of political vendetta, because she led investigations on Duterte’s drug war in the Senate, and probes on human rights violations when the President was still Davao City mayor.

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JPV