Senators on Monday welcomed the decision of a Muntinlupa court to allow former senator Leila de Lima to post bail in her remaining drug case.
Senator Risa Hontiveros viewed the court's decision to grant De Lima's request for bail in her remaining drug case as a "huge vindication" for the former lawmaker and the entire opposition.
"This is a huge vindication for Senator Leila and the whole opposition. Senator Leila, a member of the opposition, was at the receiving end of the harshest challenges from the Duterte administration," an emotional Hontiveros told reporters in an interview at the Senate.
De Lima, a staunch critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, has been in detention since 2017 for allegedly pocketing payoffs from drug lords when she was the justice secretary to raise funds for her senatorial campaign in 2016. De lima was released Monday night.
Two of the three illegal drug cases filed against her were dismissed following the recantations of the supposed witnesses.
For Hontiveros, De Lima's case could be considered as "partly an indictment of our judicial process and our political process."
"For the longest time, it seems like it was already an indictment. But until the end, to this day, Leila did not give up," she said.
Senator Grace Poe, likewise, welcomed the grant of bail to the former lawmaker.
"Seven years of incarceration is long and arduous," Poe said in a statement. "Rich or poor, it is unjust to be jailed for a long time due to the slow justice system."
