MANILA - A Muntinlupa court again deferred on Friday the arraignment of detained Sen. Leila de Lima for drug charges over her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade in the national penitentiary.

The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206 rescheduled De Lima's arraignment to July 27.

This after the court dismissed De Lima's motion to quash the conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading charges against her.

De Lima's camp also filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing that the prosecution changed its charges against the lady senator.

“Actually yung problemang ito hindi naman galing sa amin eh. Nanggaling din sa prosekusyon kasi binago nila ang offense eh. Dati illegal drug trading eh, ginawa nilang conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading. Umaalma kami don,” lawyer Boni Tacardon, counsel of De Lima, said.

(This problem came from the prosecution because they changed the offense. It used to be illegal drug trading and they changed it to conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading. We are opposing that.)

The court gave the prosecution five days to comment on De Lima's plea.

“When they came to court, they are already equipped with their motion for reconsideration, and how would they know that the arguments they prepared in their motion for reconsideration would answer the very allegations in the order of the court?” said Prosecutor Ramoncito Ocampo.

-report from Zhander Cayabyab, ABS-CBN News