FILE PHOTO: Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero during a public hearing of the committee on cultural communities and Muslim affairs on Monday, May 27, 2024. On Tuesday, June 25, 2024, Escudero said Leila de Lima deserves to be in the Senate, even expressing hope that the former senator will have a good chance of winning in the 2025 midterm elections should she decide to return to the upper chamber and run for senator again. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Leila de Lima deserves to be in the Senate.
Escudero was asked if he thinks de Lima has a good chance of success in the 2025 midterm polls should she decide to return to the upper chamber and run for senator again.
“I hope so because she deserves to be in the Senate, but is she running?” he told reporters in a text message.
Escudero likewise said he is proud of de Lima’s resilience and unwavering faith in God and truth.
“I congratulate former Senator De Lima, not only for finally getting justice but for facing her accusers head-on and following and believing in the rule of law, however unfair it may have looked upon her at that time,” he said.
READ: Vindication for De Lima as last drug case junked
De Lima, a fierce critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte, was accused of being involved in the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison and was arrested and detained in 2017.
On June 24, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court acquitted her in the last drug-related case filed against her by the Duterte administration.
READ: US asks PH to solve politically motivated cases after De Lima acquittal
De Lima’s camp filed the petition in March, arguing that the prosecution’s case has insufficient evidence.
The lower court’s decision to dismiss the drug charges against de Lima is tantamount to an acquittal of the former senator.
Now, all three drug-related cases that the Duterte administration filed against de Lima are dismissed.