EXPLAINER: De Lima won’t be detained again after Court of Appeals decision

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De Lima's camp also says that the CA remanded or returned the case to the lower court to ask the judge to rewrite the decision

In a recent decision, a Court of Appeals (CA) division nullified the ruling that cleared former senator Leila de Lima in one of her drug cases in 2023.

The April 30 ruling, made public only on May 15, voided Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 204’s decision that junked one of the three drug cases against the former opposition senator back in 2023.

What does this mean for De Lima?

No detention

A staunch critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte and his drug war, De Lima faced three drug cases filed under the former chief executive’s time. All of the three cases had already been dismissed by three Muntinlupa City RTC branches in 2021, 2023, and 2024.

Even before her last acquittal in 2024, De Lima walked free from nearly seven years of detention in 2023 after she had been allowed to post bail on her third and last drug case at the time.

Come 2024, De Lima secured her “unmitigated freedom” after Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 206 junked her third and last charge of conspiracy to commit drug trading. 

The CA voided the decision that junked the 2023 case, but this doesn’t mean that De Lima will be back in detention.

“Status is maintained, the final and unappealable nature of the acquittal, until the Supreme Court affirms the CA’s reversal [of the decision],” De Lima’s legal defense team told Rappler. 

According to De Lima’s counsels, what the CA did was to void the decision, and not reverse it. This means that the CA did not convict De Lima; nor did it order a return to detention.

Her camp also said the CA remanded or returned the case to the lower court level to ask Presiding Judge Abraham Alcantara to rewrite the decision.

“Kataka-taka itong desisyon na ito na mistulang pinapaulit ng CA ang pagkasulat ng desisyon ng RTC dahil daw hindi ito masyadong malinaw (This decision is curious because it seems that the CA is asking the RTC to rewrite its decision because it said the ruling was not clear),” De Lima said.

Double jeopardy?

There is a constitutional right against double jeopardy, which means that someone who’s already been acquitted can’t be convicted.

Section 21 of the 1987 Constitution states: “No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.”

When Presiding Judge Alcantara denied the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration against De Lima’s 2023 acquittal, he ruled that every acquittal becomes final once it is promulgated and could not be recalled for amendment.

The judge noted that the prosecution was not allowed to appeal the acquittal because it would put De Lima in double jeopardy.

But there were instances that courts voided acquittals on other grounds, like mistrial, or when there’s grave abuse of discretion. This point of entry had been used by Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, Duterte’s former justice secretary, to file a petition for certiorari with the CA to assail De Lima’s acquittal.

A petition for certiorari is a type of legal remedy used to assail a decision on the basis of grave abuse of discretion.

“Final and unappealable ang aking acquittal dahil sa prinsipyo ng double jeopardy, habang appealable pa naman hanggang Supreme Court ang desisyon ng CA. Sa ngayon, mas matimbang pa rin ang pagpapawalang-sala sa akin ng RTC,” De Lima said. (My acquittal is final and unappealable because of the principle of double jeopardy, while the CA’s decision is appealable up to the SC. Now, my acquittal in the RTC still carries more weight.)

What now?

De Lima will remain free because the nullification of her acquittal would still be under appeal, and won’t be executed yet.

In the meantime, the former senator will make a congressional comeback in the 20th Congress. There, she will be reunited with the chamber that once crucified her over allegations under Duterte’s time.

De Lima will serve as ML Representative, as the said party list is set to secure at least one seat after the 2025 national and local elections.

The former senator, who also served as Department of Justice secretary under former president Noynoy Aquino, will join the House of Representatives’ team that will prosecute Vice President Sara Duterte in the latter’s upcoming impeachment trial. – Rappler.com