The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday the recent decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) reversing former senator Leila de Lima’s acquittal in a fabricated drug case against her will not affect her election as a party-list representative.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia told Manila Standard in a text message that De Lima’s proclamation as the first nominee of the Mamamayang Liberal (ML) party-list remains valid despite the appellate court’s ruling.
When asked whether the CA decision will have an implication in De Lima’s election as incoming member of the House of Representatives in the 20th Congress, Garcia said: “I don’t think so.”
The CA’s decision was issued on April 30, but made public after De Lima was proclaimed as one of the winning party-list representatives in the 2025 midterm elections.
De Lima, a former Justice Secretary and staunch critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte, had been acquitted in the drug-related cases meant to ruin her reputation, only to have the decision reversed by the appellate court.
“This does not mean my acquittal has been revoked. My acquittal is final and unappealable because of the principle of double jeopardy. The CA decision, on the other hand, is appealable up to the Supreme Court. My acquittal has more weight as it stands,” she said of the CA reversal.