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The dismissal comes months after De Lima secured acquittal in all of her drug cases
MANILA, Philippines – The Office of the Ombudsman junked the graft and bribery complaints filed against former senator Leila de Lima.
In a resolution dated July 12, but was made public on Thursday, September 19, the Ombudsman dismissed the complaints against the former lawmaker filed for alleged violation of section 3(a) and (e) of Republic Act No. 3019 or Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, direct and indirect bribery, section 7(d) of RA No. 6713 or Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and Presidential Decree No. 46 or ban
The Ombudsman dismissed the complaints for lack of probable cause.
“There is no dispute that De Lima was a public official at the time relevant to the subject transactions. However, as earlier pointed out, there is paucity of proof that De Lima actually received, either personally or through her purported intermediaries, any money from the NBP inmates,” the resolution said about De Lima’s clearance on her graft complaint.
“Moreover, no evidence was presented to establish that De Lima granted these NBP (New Bilibid Prison),” it added.
The allegations in the Ombudsman complaints were similar to the ones presented in the dismissed drug cases filed against De Lima. In the two sets of suits, the former senator and justice secretary was accused of demanding payments from persons deprived of liberty intended for her 2016 senatorial campaign.
However, these allegations were not proven to be true as the cases were eventually dismissed. The last and final drug case was dismissed in June.
De Lima was detained for almost seven years for the cases filed against her under former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. The former senator now serves as the spokesperson of the once-ruling Liberal Party. – Rappler.com
