Presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao on Friday, April 29, called for the speedy release of detained senator Leila de Lima as the main witness of the drug charges against her recanted his statement.
Pacquiao lamented that as drug charges against De Lima remain unresolved, the lawmaker also continues being denied her freedom.
He said it must end and be resolved considering that she has been in jail several years already.
"Kumbaga pangit naman kung inosente siyang tao matapos na ikulong siya ng matagal (It doesn’t look good that she's detained for the longest time yet she is innocent)," he added in an interview with reporters during his campaign rally in Leyte, “There’s no reason na tatagal pa ang kaso (to hold the case longer)."
Pacquiao made the remark after Kerwin Espinosa recanted his earlier statements that pinned De Lima on drug and bribery charges. Espinosa said he was only forced to implicate the senator.