Former Senator Leila de Lima was cleared of all drug charges against her after a Muntinlupa court on Monday granted her demurrer to evidence, effectively dismissing her third and final drug case.
The Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 cleared De Lima for the third and last charge of conspiracy to commit drug trading.
“Demurer is granted,” Atty. Boni Tacardon, De Lima’s legal counsel, said in a message to reporters.
De Lima filed her demurrer in March, where she asked the court to acquit and declare her not guilty for failure of the prosecution to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Her camp maintained that the testimonies of the witnesses were hearsay, noting that they were convicted criminals who are unreliable and untrustworthy.
The two witnesses were Rodolfo Magleo and Nonilo Arile, who have both recanted their testimonies against De Lima.
Under the Rules on Criminal Procedure, a demurrer to evidence is a motion to dismiss due to insufficiency of evidence. A defendant cites that the evidence produced by the prosecution is insufficient to make out a case, whether true or not. Once granted, the case will be dismissed, and it is tantamount to an acquittal.
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