Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate state prosecutors for grave misconduct and gross ignorance of the law over their handling of the drug cases against her.
In a complaint to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, De Lima accused the 10-member prosecution panel of pursuing “fabricated” and “politically motivated” charges, including a recent second motion for reconsideration to overturn her acquittal despite the absence of material evidence.
She said the cases relied on the coerced and later-recanted testimony of former Bureau of Corrections chief Rafael Ragos, whose 2022 retraction was key to her acquittal.
De Lima, jailed in 2017 for three drug cases she claimed were in retaliation for her criticism of former president Rodrigo Duterte, said the prosecutors acted as “instruments of persecution, not prosecution.”
Meanwhile, Ragos’ family remembered him as a “man of honor” who risked threats and humiliation to tell the truth.
Source: PhilNews24 | August 15, 2025
