A lawyer of former senator Leila de Lima said a judge granted de Lima's bail petition because he did not find the prosecution witnesses' testimony against the senator to be believable.

Atty. Boni Tacardon, a member of de Lima's defense team, said Muntinlupa RTC Branch 206 Judge Gener Gito noted that some of the witnesses used by the prosecution were convicted of crimes of moral turpitude and their testimonies should not be immediately accepted by the court without corroboration.

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"Isa sa mga basehan sa pagbigay ng piyansa...'Yung mga testigo na ipinarada o pinrisinta ng panel of prosecutors ay di kapani-paniwala," he said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.

"Kung susumahin lahat ng ebidensya ng panel of prosecutors, sabi ni Judge Gito, hindi ito aligned, hindi ito consistent, hindi ito magpapatunay na 'yung mga akusado ay nag-usap usap para gamitin ang mga inmates na magbenta ng ilegal na droga at tanggapin ang profits nito."

In a 69-page ruling, Gito said the testimonies of the prosecution's 9 witnesses "were not able to clearly establish that there exists a conspiracy among them to commit illegal drug trading."

• Why Muntinlupa court allowed De Lima, others to post bail

The court also dismissed as "hearsay" the claim of the prosecution's most important witness, Herbert Colanggo, that he was raising funds for De Lima's senatorial bid.

"Ang sinabi ni Judge Gito, paano tayo maniniwala na ang kausao niya o ka-text niya ay si Sen. Leila de Lima e wala namang nagsasabi ng ibang ebidensya at wala naman siyang maiprisenta na ibang ebidensya na magpapatunay nga na kausap ni Herbert Colanggo ang dating senadora," Tacardon said.

"Hindi katanggap-tanggap sa hukuman na sasasabihin lang ni Herbert Colanggo na kausap niya o katext niya si Sen. Leila de Lima. Kailangan may corroboration, which the panel of prosecuotors failed to do."

• Convict Colanggo: I gave de Lima millions in drug payoffs

De Lima had been in jail for over six years on what she says were fabricated, politically motivated charges intended to silence her criticism of then-President Rodrigo Duterte and his bloody war on drugs.

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De Lima spent 10 years investigating"death squad" executions said to have been orchestrated by Duterte while he was mayor of Davao City and early in his presidency. Her work began during her time as Philippines human rights commissioner and continued during her tenure as justice secretary.

She was elected to the Senate in 2016, the same year Duterte became president after running on a tough "law and order" campaign. De Lima, one of the strongman's few critics, railed against his so-called "war on drugs," even as Duterte publicly demeaned her in speeches and accused her of working with criminals to run a prison drug-trafficking ring during her time as justice secretary.

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In the interview, Tacardon said the defense team will likely move for the dismissal of the case after the court resolves the formal offer of evidence submitted by the prosecution.

"Once resolved, we are given by law the right to submit a demurrer to evidence," he said.

He said the demurrer will most likely be submitted "by next month or at most in the next 2 months."

De Lima is set to visit her mother in Bicol soon, Tacardon said.

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Asked if De Lima will make a retaliatory move against former president Duterte, he said the former senator had already told Duterte: "God forgive him and God bless him."

• 'God bless him': De Lima send message to ex-president Duterte

However, he also harkened back to De Lima's words when she was first put in jail over the drug charges.

"There will be a day of reckoning."