TACLOBAN, Philippines – Unlike two other presidential candidates, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno is not ready to declare Senator Leila de Lima innocent of drug charges filed against her by the Duterte administration even after retractions by two star witnesses of their accounts against her.

“If the court will see na mahina na yung kaso, humina yung kaso, ayoko pangunahan ang korte. And if she can avail of such rights or temporarily be free while the case is being heard, then she should avail of that. She should be afforded [that], ‘yon ang aking doon,” said Moreno on Thursday, May 5, in Sogod, Southern Leyte.

(If the court will see that the case got weaker, I don’t want to preempt the court. And if she can avail of such rights or temporarily be free while the case is being heard, then she should avail of that. She should be afforded that, that’s my take.)

Back in September, in his first interview as a presidential aspirant, Moreno told Rappler roughly the same thing about his stance on the De Lima cases: that he would not meddle with the judicial process already underway.

Asked for what he thought of President Rodrigo Duterte given that both alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa and former corrections chief Rafael Ragos claimed to have been coerced by his former justice secretary, Moreno only said he could not be sure of the credibility of the two witnesses.

“Ah, hindi ko alam. Hindi ko ‘yon nabasa (I don’t know. I didn’t read about that) but that is the statement made by them, it is a statement against their own statement so I don’t know,” said the 47-year-old presidential bet.

However, Moreno promised Filipinos that, if he wins as president, he will ensure the justice system treats everyone fairly.

“I guarantee the 100 million Filipinos equal opportunity. I will not allow abuse of power, abuse or withholding rights. All are equal in the eyes of the law,” said the Aksyon Demokratiko candidate.

In contrast, Vice President Leni Robredo has openly called for the release of De Lima, who is seeking reelection under her senatorial slate. Senator Manny Pacquiao has also backed De Lima’s freedom.

Unlike Pacquiao and Robredo, however, Moreno has been openly courting Duterte supporters during his presidential campaign – even vowing not to hand the President to the International Criminal Court should it issue a warrant based on its investigation into his administration’s drug war. De Lima had been holding Senate hearings about Duterte’s illegal anti-drugs campaign before her detention.

Moreno has said he would rather Duterte stand trial before a Philippine court, not an international one. – Rappler.com