File photo of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte
A Philippine court has granted the bail petition of former Senator Leila de Lima, a staunch critic of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte who has been in detention for more than six years.
"I’ve been praying so hard for this day to come,” an emotional de Lima told reporters on Monday as she was ushered out of the court by the police.
The bail was granted on her last remaining drug case where she’s accused of tolerating alleged drug trade in the national penitentiary when she was justice chief. A court acquitted her in mid-May in a charge alleging her of conspiracy to trade illegal drugs.
The cases against the former senator were filed during the presidency of Duterte, whose drug war killed thousands. De Lima investigated the drug war when she was a human rights chief and a lawmaker, putting her in Duterte’s crosshairs.
De Lima thanked the current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for "respecting the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.”
Marcos has said there were abuses during Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, currently being investigated by the International Criminal Court.
