Lagman: Prosecution’s bid to present new witness vs de Lima a delaying plot
PURSUING JUSTICE | Under heavy guard, former Sen. Leila de Lima, in this Jan. 27, 2023, photo, arrives at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court to attend a hearing set for one of her two remaining cases. (File photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The government prosecutors’ move to reopen drug cases against former senator Leila de Lima and present new witnesses and evidence is only meant to delay the legal proceedings, opposition leader and Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman claimed on Thursday.
Lagman, in a statement, said that the move by the Department of Justice (DOJ) panel of prosecutors handling de Lima’s case is ‘persecutory’ and ‘unwarranted.’
“The prosecution’s attempt to reopen the case against Sen. Leila De Lima, after jointly submitting it for decision, to belatedly introduce a ‘rebuttal’ witness, is prosecution by installment, which is persecutory, dilatory and unwarranted,” he said.
On Wednesday, de Lima’s counsel decried the prosecution’s move to present a new witness and other pieces of evidence against the former senator, who was accused of receiving payouts from Bureau of Correction (BuCor) inmates and benefitting from the drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison when she was still Justice secretary.
The former senator’s camp opposed this, noting that the two sides agreed to terminate the proceedings and submit the case for resolution.
READ: De Lima’s camp opposes prosecution’s request to re-open drug case
READ: DOJ wants to present new witness vs De Lima
The prosecution asked the court to reopen the case and allow the presentation of Public Attorneys’ Office (PAO) lawyer Demiteer Huerta, one of the lawyers who took the testimony of former BuCor chief Rafael Ragos when he testified against de Lima.
Ragos testified that he gave P10 million to de Lima, to help her 2016 senatorial bid. However, Ragos admitted last May 2022 that he was only coerced by former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to testify against the former senator, a staunch critic of the previous administration.
Aguirre denied this accusation, saying Ragos was “downright lying.”
READ: Another witness retracts accusations vs De Lima, says he was ‘coerced’
READ: Aguirre denies coercing Ragos to indict De Lima in Bilibid drug trade
But de Lima’s camp maintained that Huerta’s testimony would not be considered newly-discovered evidence as he had been coordinating with the prosecution while Ragos testified in open court.
De Lima’s lawyer Filibon Tacardon said the court acted on their agreement, setting another hearing to promulgate the decision on May 12. He also said the lawyers approached de Lima, shook hands, and hugged.
“In fact, after our trial, when we shook hands, they approached Senator De Lima, they even hugged… and we were all happy after we agreed to have the case submitted for decision already,” Tacardon said.
