Former senator Leila de Lima will file a motion seeking to dismiss her last remaining drug case in Muntinlupa. 

On March 11, De Lima attended a hearing at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206. 

The court held a hearing on case 17-167, one of the three cases filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Duterte administration in February 2017. 

Former senator Leila de Lima at the Muntinlupa Hall of Justice on March 11 (Screenshots from Leila de Lima's videos on Facebook) 

The case accused De Lima, former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director Franklin Jesus Bucayu, Ronnie Dayan, Joenel Sanchez and Jose Adrian Dera of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading. 

It charged that between March 2013 to May 2015, the accused used inmates at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa to sell and trade dangerous drugs using mobile phones and other electronic devices, and allegedly got the proceeds amounting to P70 million.

In the case, De Lima and the other accused were granted bail by the court in November last year. De Lima was released from detention after she posted bail amounting to P300,000 that was set by the court. 

Last year, several government witnesses expressed their desire to recant their testimonies against De Lima under the case.  

They included retired Brig. Gen. Jerry Valeroso of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and persons deprived of liberty (PDLs). 

Boni Tacardon, De Lima’s legal counsel, said they intend to file a demurrer to evidence to dismiss the case, the only remaining case among the three filed by the DOJ. The two were dismissed by Muntinlupa courts in 2021 and 2023. 

"Court issued its resolution on the Formal Offer of Evidence this afternoon. We then asked the Court to give us at least ten days to file our motion for leave to file demurrer to evidence, which was granted," he said. 

He added, “The Prosecution was given 15 days to comment after which the incident is submitted for decision.” 

“The demurrer to evidence, if granted, will result to the dismissal of the criminal case,” Tacardon explained. 

A demurrer to evidence is filed by the accused after the prosecution rests, seeking to dismiss the case on the ground of insufficiency of evidence. 

“Once a demurrer to evidence has been granted in a criminal case, the grant amounts to an acquittal. Any further prosecution for the same offense would violate the accused's constitutional right against double jeopardy,” according to a Supreme Court ruling. 

In February 2021, a Muntinlupa court dismissed case 17-166 after it granted De Lima’s demurrer to evidence. It was one of the three DOJ drug cases. 

Section 23 of The Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure states that “after the prosecution rests its case, the court may dismiss the action on the ground of insufficiency of evidence (1) on its own initiative after giving the prosecution the opportunity to be heard or (2) upon demurrer to evidence filed by the accused with or without leave of court.”