THE Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Muntinlupa City has granted the plea of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to withdraw the motion for reconsideration that was filed by its prosecutors in connection with the acquittal of former Senator and now Mamamayang Liberal party-list Representative Leila de Lima in the conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading charges filed against her.
In a two-page order, Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 Presiding Judge Abraham Alcantara said with the withdrawal of the motion for reconsiderations, the last remaining drug case filed against De Lima by the Duterte administration is now deemed ‘closed and terminated.’
‘Considering that this case already involves an acquittal, the Court shall exercise sound discretion and allow withdrawal of the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration,’ Judge Alcantara said.
‘Indeed, the directive of the Honorable Prosecutor General upon the panel of the prosecutors to withdraw the motion is impressed with merit,’ he added. De Lima was acquitted by the Muntinlupa RTC last May 12, 2023 but this decision was declared null and void by the Court of Appeals (CA) in a ruling issued last May.
The CA held that Alcantara committed grave abuse of discretion when it acquitted De Lima and his former bodyguard Ronnie Dayan mainly due the recantation of the prosecution’s principal witness, former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos.
It ruled that Alcantara violated the Constitution and the Rules of Court which mandates ‘transparency and reasonableness of the decision making-process.’
The CA said the judge failed to state the specific facts retracted by Ragos and its effects to the facts proven by the prosecution and failed to identify the specific factual statements that were purportedly retracted by the witness.
Thus, the CA ordered that the case be remanded to the trial court for it to decide the case in accordance with the rules stated in the decision.
Acting on the CA’s directive, the trial court issued another ruling last June 27, 2025 which maintained its May 12, 2023 decision in favor of De Lima and Dayan.
This prompted the prosecution panel led by Provincial Prosecutor Ramoncito Bienvenido Ocampo to file an MR seeking the reversal of the trial court’s June 27 decision.
The panel insisted that despite the recantation of Ragos, there are other pieces of evidence which are sufficient to prove de Lima’s guilt.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, however, ordered the withdrawal of the motion on the ground of double jeopardy.
Double jeopardy is a legal principle that an accused cannot be tried twice for the same offense based on the same conduct.
Its purpose is to protect the accused from harassment, oppression, and abuse of power by the state.
De Lima earlier accused the DOJ prosecution panel of having a political agenda in pursuing the drug charges despite her acquittal.
Alcantara also stressed that granting the motion for reconsideration of the prosecutors would be tantamount to violation of the double jeopardy rule.
‘To reiterate and emphasize, every acquittal becomes final and immediately upon promulgation and cannot be recalled for correction or amendment,’ Alcantara said.
‘With the acquittal being immediately final, granting the State’s motion for reconsideration in this case would violate the Constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy because it would effectively reopen the prosecution and subject the accused to a second jeopardy despite their acquittal,’ he added.