SC divided over De Lima?

Will Sen. Leila de Lima be released or will she remain detained and stand trial over drug-related charges?

The Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling tomorrow on the embattled senator’s petition seeking release from detention and to stop her indictment on the grounds that the drug trafficking charges against her were part of the government’s political persecution for being a critic of the Duterte administration.

De Lima also questioned the Muntinlupa City regional trial court’s jurisidiction over her cases filed by the Department of Justice.

An SC insider confirmed that De Lima’s case is included in their agenda for the regular session and that several justices have submitted their opinions.

“We have a divided court,” the source told The STAR, suggesting that some justices voted to deny the petition while others wanted it granted.

Last week, De Lima filed a last-minute motion seeking the inhibition of Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. due to alleged “conflict of interest” over his “prior actuations” in the case of convicted drug lord German Agojo, one of the witnesses against the senator in the drug cases.

But Velasco rejected the plea, saying he did not vote in favor of Agojo’s acquittal when the case was decided by the SC.

The magistrate stressed that De Lima’s allegation was based on a report by journalist Marites Vitug whom he earlier charged with libel.