[ad_1]
MANILA – The camp of the detained senator Leila De Lima will formally request a Regional Court of First Instance (RTC) of Muntinlupa to dismiss two of the three cases of illegal drugs against her, as the Department of Justice (DOJ) rested on Tuesday your presentation of witnesses and other evidence.
De Lima faces criminal cases Nos. 17-165 (vs. De Lima and driver-assistant, Ronnie Palisoc Dayan) and 17-166 (vs. De Lima and Jose Adrián “Jad” De Vera) before Muntinlupa RTC Branch 205 for their alleged participation in illegal drug trafficking in New Bilibid Prison during her tenure as Secretary of Justice (2010-2016).
When indicting De Lima and his co-defendants on February 20, 2017, the DOJ alleged complicity between them in a “conspiracy” to commit “sale, trade, administration, dispensing, delivery, distribution and transportation of dangerous drugs”, punishable under the Dangerous Drugs Law (Republic Law No. 9165).
“From the beginning, our position is that there is no case against Senator De Lima. That is why we present our authorization to present objections… There is insufficient evidence against Senator De Lima, ”said one of his attorneys, Atty. Rolly Peoro.
Presiding Judge Liezel Aquiatan gave the De Lima camp 10 days to present the statement, after which the DOJ will also have 10 days to formally present its comment or opposition.
At Tuesday’s hearing, prosecutors voiced their objection to the objection statement.
“We are confident that the evidence we have presented is convincing, that the elements of the crime that we have alleged against the defendants have indeed been proven,” said Caloocan Deputy Attorney General Darwin Cañete, who is part of the DOJ Prosecution Panel .
“We made our objection and opposition known to the honorable court. And if they present their objection to the evidence as ordered by the honorable court within the period provided, we will certainly give our strong objection and comment on their position, because we firmly believe that the prosecution has established the guilt of all defendants in the cases. ” he added.
About 20 witnesses against De Lima were presented, including some high-profile NBP inmates headed by convicted drug traffickers Peter Co and Vicente Sy, the former deputy director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Rafael Ragos, the NBI agent. Jovencio “Jun” Ablen, Jr., and officials from the Philippine Drug Control Agency (PDEA) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
“Not only that, our exhibits – documentary and object -, most of them were admitted by the court. So tinanggap ho ng hukuman yung aming mga ebidensya, admitted na. And that is why we have been considered rested with respect to the bail request and also the case in chief, ”said Cañete.
The alleged drug transactions taken from the mobile phone of an NBP inmate are part of the prosecution’s evidence.
“The scene of the crime takes place in part in Bilibid … and the witnesses to the crime are necessarily the inmates,” said Cañete.
De Lima, Dayan and De Vera (alleged bag man) also face a third case of illegal drugs before the RTC, along with former director of the Corrections Office co-defendant Franklin Jesus Bucayu, Wilfredo Elli and Joenel Sánchez.
NBP inmate Jaybee Sebastian, who died on July 18, 2020, was listed in the third case.
Sebastian, who allegedly ran the NBP gang ‘Presidio’, was serving time for carjacking and kidnapping for ransom.
FROM LIMA MAINTAINS THE “SPIRIT OF STRUGGLE”
Peoro, a lawyer for De Lima, said that the senator, who has been in prison since February 24, 2017, has maintained her fighting spirit.
“Meeting her, Madame always has a fighting spirit despite her imprisonment. So, of course, vacation, of course, alone. But she is our source of fighting spirit and hope. So move on (in the legal battle). “
The trial court has 30 days after the Department of Justice comments to rule on the objection.
In the event that the declaration is denied, the De Lima camp will present its defense as of March 5. His lawyers intend to call the former head of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) and now Secretary of the Interior, Eduardo Año, as their first witness.
“Second. Year is a former intelligence officer, ISAFP’s intelligence chief. We want to obtain information from him … that there was no intelligence report or any link against Senator De Lima in the illegal drug trade.”
WHAT WAS BEFORE
A staunch critic of the former mayor of Davao city and now President Rodrigo Duterte from her tenure as chair of the Human Rights Commission (CHR) from 2008 to 2010, De Lima has repeatedly denounced her accusation as part of efforts to crack down on the political opposition.
De Lima investigated that the alleged ‘Davao Death Squad’ was linked to but repeatedly denied by Duterte.
On August 12, 2016, more than a month since taking office, Duterte warned that he would soon “destroy” a high-ranking public official.
“One day soon, bitiwan ko iyan in public, and I will have to destroy it in public,” Duterte said.
Nine days later, Duterte named De Lima in a public speech and accused her of being at the top of the alleged drug trade of NBP, which reportedly controls 70 percent of the country’s illegal drug industry.
“All of these things happened under your nose and ‘shabu’ was floating in and it was being — and what was really painful and the reason why we knew and I know why they were trafficking shabu from within,” Duterte said.
On August 25 of the same year, Duterte publicly released a drug trafficking matrix of the alleged conspiracy between De Lima, Dayan, other government officials, and drug lords within the NBP.
On September 20, 2016, lawmakers investigated the allegations and summoned high-profile NBP inmates who immobilized De Lima.
Citing Section 10 of the Law for the Protection, Safety and Benefit of Witnesses (RA No. 6981), De Lima argued before the court of first instance that the state’s witnesses must not have been “at any time convicted of any crime involving moral depravity “.
The DOJ, however, insisted that the testimony of the convicts is admissible because they were presented as ordinary witnesses and not as state witnesses.
Malacañang has maintained to this day that the case against De Lima is not one of persecution, but one of prosecution.
RELATED VIDEO
Leila De Lima, Rodrigo Duterte, President Duterte, NBP, Bilibid, New Bilibid Prison, illegal drugs, RTC Branch 205
[ad_2]