Judge withdraws from senator s drug case bworldonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bworldonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
AFP
A Philippine court acquitted Sen. Leila de Lima on Wednesday of one of three drug charges but ruled that the opposition politician – a top critic of President Rodrigo Duterte during her nearly four years in prison – must remain incarcerated.
The government has alleged that de Lima, who was sent to prison in February 2017, received protection money from jailed drug dealers while she served as justice minister before being elected to the senate.
“I welcome the court’s clearing me of Criminal Case No. 17-166,” the senator said in a statement from prison as she celebrated the decision by the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court, Branch 205.