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Former senator Leila De Lima (File photo) MANILA - Defense counsels of detained former senator Leila De Lima asked anew a Muntinlupa court to either dismiss the drug charges against her and her aide Ronnie Dayan or allow bail for their temporary liberty. In a 33-page motion dated Feb. 23, the two accused through defense lawyer Teddy Esteban Rigoroso asked the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 204 to dismiss the charges and order their release following the retraction of testimony of one witness -- former Bureau of Corrections officer in charge Rafael Ragos. Ragos retracted his earlier testimony that PHP10 million from drug lords had been sent to De Lima when she was still Justice Secretary and claimed that he had been intimidated and threatened with prosecution to make the allegations. After his initial retraction last May 6, Ragos has been subsequently called again to the witness stand five times as a witness for co-accused Dayan -- the last time of which was last Feb. 10. "At the very least, herein accused should be granted her constitutional right to bail in light of the retraction of the only testimony offered by the prosecution that supposedly links her to the offense charged," De Lima's lawyer said. The defense also said De Lima's continued detention at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame is unduly putting her at risk, citing the incident where she was held hostage by another detainee in the facility on Oct. 9, 2022. "If accused De Lima is innocent, as she vehemently maintains she is, then she is being unnecessarily exposed to such dangerous conditions and life-threatening risks while in detention for trial," the defense said, adding that De Lima is not a flight risk. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday said his office welcomes any move before the courts by the defense counsels for De Lima's liberty. De Lima, who lost a reelection bid in the Senate in the 2022 elections while behind bars, has been detained at the PNP Custodial Center for since 2017. She is facing criminal charges before the Muntinlupa RTC for allegedly running a protection racket while she was secretary of justice for detained drug lords who allegedly made contributions to her senatorial bid. A number of key witnesses in the case have since retracted their testimonies. De Lima claims her detention is part of efforts to persecute her for her criticism of the human rights record of former President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-crime policies. The possibility of gaining temporary liberty while the cases remain pending arose anew after the Supreme Court (SC) last January granted a habeas corpus writ for the release of lawyer Jessica Lucila Reyes, a former aide of Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile. Detained since 2014, Reyes faced charges for her alleged part in supposed irregularities in the legislator's discretionary funds. Remulla earlier said the basis cited by the SC in allowing Reyes' release may be applicable to De Lima's case. (PNA) }
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