A Muntinlupa City court handling one of the drug trading cases against Sen. Leila de Lima has approved the use of 13 convicts as state witnesses against the senator, one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s harshest critics.
In a three-page order dated Sept. 24 but released only on Thursday, Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 Judge Lorna Navarro-Domingo denied the detained senator’s motion to disqualify 13 inmates of New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to stand as witnesses because their testimony would be “devoid of merit.”
Domingo cited Rule No. 130 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure in setting who were admissible and disqualified as witnesses.
Disqualification
Mental incapacity or immaturity of a person and privileged communication were the only grounds for disqualification of a witness.
On Sept. 25, the court was set to hear the prosecution’s third witness, former policeman Engelberto Durano, who was convicted of murder, attempted murder and kidnapping, at the NBP court room.
Domingo, however, called in sick.
Also among the government’s witnesses serving sentences at the NBP were convicts Nonilo Arile, Jojo Baligad, Herbert Colanggo, Rodolfo Magleo, Vicente Sy, Hans Tan, Froilan Trestiza, Peter Co, Noel Martinez, Joel Capones, German Agojo and Jaime Patcho.
Not credible
De Lima’s camp maintained that the 13 convicts should not be admitted in the Witness Protection Program as they were “convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.”
“As I’ve said before, these witnesses are not credible,” De Lima said.
“Since they are already convicted of another crime, whatever they say in relation to the drug charge will not have a great effect on them,” she said.
“In short, they have nothing to lose but have something to gain,” she added.
De Lima’s camp will file a pleading questioning Navarro’s order.
The case filed at Muntinlupa RTC Branch 206 accused De Lima, as then justice secretary, of conspiring with jail officials and inmates to trade drugs inside the NBP to raise funds for her 2016 senatorial campaign.