Former Senator Leila de Lima (left) and Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas (De Lima's Facebook and Rep. Brosas' Facebook)

Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said the acquittal of former senator Leila de Lima from her remaining drug-related charges was proof of the country’s “rotten” justice system.

In a statement, Brosas said the charges filed against De Lima during the Duterte administration were “trumped-up". This means that the dismissal of the raps are “long overdue”.

"Ilang taon matapos ikulong si former Senator Leila De Lima ngayon lang binasura ang mga gawa-gawang kaso laban sa kanya. Pinapakita lamang nito ang kabulukan ng sistema ng hustisya dito sa Pilipinas," she said.

(Senator Leila De Lima was incarcerated for years and the fabricated charges against her were just dismissed now. This only shows the rottenness of the justice system here in the Philippines.)

De Lima, a vocal critic of then-president Rodrigo Duterte and his war on drugs, was arrested in 2017 after the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed three drug-trafficking charges against her.

She spent six years in detention and was only freed on bail last November 2023, having been acquitted of two other drug-related charges.

Brosas stressed that De Lima’s fight for justice should not end with her acquittal.

“We must hold accountable those responsible for unjust incarceration and the trumped-up charges against former senator De Lima, especially former president Duterte," she added.

At the same time, the Makabayan bloc lawmaker is also calling for the release of other political prisoners.

"While former Senator de Lima's acquittal is a victory for justice, it is a stark reminder that many other political prisoners remain behind bars for trumped-up charges,” said Brosas.

“We will continue to amplify our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, the dropping of all fabricated charges against activists, and the cessation of all forms of political persecution," the lawmaker continued.