Will a Philippine senator’s exoneration spark a deeper probe into Duterte’s drug war?

On Monday, a regional court in Muntinlupa City granted the former Philippine human rights commissioner’s motion to dismiss her third and final conspiracy to commit drug charge due to the prosecution being unable to provide enough evidence to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

De Lima told reporters she felt “an enormous sense of relief and happiness” after the decision was announced.

“It’s very liberating. I respected the rule of law, despite the pain, despite the injustices of it all. I confronted the charges head on, and I went through and endured the whole process,” she added.

Former President Duterte administration filed three charges against De Lima on accusation of receiving money from drug traffickers when she was the justice secretary between 2010 and 2015.

After key government witnesses recanted their earlier statements against her, the court tossed out two out of the three charges.

In November last year, the former senator was released on bail from jail after spending six years in custody.

De Lima was widely believed to have been targeted by Duterte due to her vocal criticism of his administration and her investigations into extrajudicial killings linked to his anti-drug campaign, which officially led to the deaths of at least 8,000 people but activists believe killed far more.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating Duterte for crimes against humanity related to his war on drugs, including killings that took place in Davao City while he was its mayor prior to becoming president.

Carlos Conde, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, told This Week in Asia that De Lima’s exoneration will hopefully prompt the ICC to look closer into the evidence already submitted to it by victims of the Duterte’s