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MANILA, Philippines – Government prosecutors have opposed a motion filed by alternative media journalist Lady Ann Salem’s camp calling for her release after the Mandaluyong regional trial court dismissed the criminal charges brought against her.
In a comment submitted by the City Prosecutor’s Office on behalf of the complainant, the Philippine National Police, stated that the February 5 ruling of Mandaluyong RTC Section 209 on the dismissal of the charges has not yet been final, so Salem still could not be released. .
“The dismissal order, received by the Municipal Prosecutor’s Office on February 5, 2021, has not yet reached its final force. Ineffably, the Prosecutor’s Office will seek redress, ”the prosecution said in a plea filed on February 9.
“Without being conclusive, the order dismissing the charges against defendant Salem remains subject to consideration or appeal, rendering his request for immediate release incorrect,” prosecutors added.
In their response, Salem’s attorneys disagreed with prosecutors’ argument about the prematurity of the execution of the court order.
“Dismissal of the cases, based on the quasi-trial of the search warrant and the consequent declaration that the seized evidence is inadmissible as evidence, amounts to an acquittal,” his camp said.
His lawyers also pointed out that the rules on criminal proceedings require that an acquittal, whether ordered by the trial or by the appeals court, be final, unappealable and immediately enforceable from its promulgation.
“Therefore, it is immediately enforceable. The defense invokes the rule of the firmness of acquittal ”, they added.
Salem’s attorneys also noted that the Mandaluyong court order nullifying the search warrant, suppressing or excluding evidence, and dismissing the case is an “evidentiary decision.”
“The Resolution of the Honorable Court, being a judgment on the merits, is final and enforceable,” they said.
The dismissal of the cases also creates double criminality for the defendants, according to the attorneys, who later reiterated their call for a release order for Salem.
Salem, editor of the alternative media site Manila Today, and her partner Rodrigo Esparago were arrested on December 10 of last year for alleged violation of the Republic Law No. 10592 or the Law of Comprehensive Regulation of Firearms and Ammunition and RA 9516 or the Explosives Law, according to the police. He accused them of being involved in an arms trafficking syndicate. The arrest coincided with the observance of World Human Rights Day.
However, the trial court on February 5 dismissed the charges against Salem and Esparago and granted their motions to vacate the search warrant, suppress the evidence and declare the illegally seized property inadmissible.
EDV
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