De Lima drug case officially closed as court affirms acquittal

The drug case against former senator and now ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima and her co-accused, Ronnie Palisoc Dayan, has been formally closed after government prosecutors withdrew their motion for reconsideration.

In a one-page order issued on 30 September, Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 Presiding Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara granted the prosecution’s motion to withdraw its earlier plea for reconsideration, which had been filed on 14 July 2025.

The panel of public prosecutors acted upon the instructions of the Prosecutor General, the order noted.

The court emphasized that an acquittal becomes final immediately upon its promulgation and cannot be appealed without violating the constitutional protection against double jeopardy, which prohibits an accused from being tried twice for the same offense.

“With the acquittal being immediately final, granting the State’s motion for reconsideration in this case would violate the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy,” the order stated, citing a Supreme Court precedent.

The former senator and Dayan had been accused of illegal drug trading under Section 5 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Republic Act No. 9165). The court’s decision to permit the withdrawal of the appeal and declare the case “closed and terminated” cements the finality of their acquittal in this charge.