Muntinlupa court that acquitted De Lima to try her last case

Leila de Lima —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Muntinlupa court that acquitted former Sen. Leila de Lima in her second drug charge will now take over her remaining pending case.

Her Criminal Case No. 17-167 was re-raffled to Judge Joseph Abraham Alcantara of the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 204 after Judge Romeo Buenaventura of Branch 256 inhibited from the case.

“The case was eventually re-raffled and assigned to this court on June 26,” the court order read.

On June 15, Buenaventura granted De Lima’s motion for inhibition against him after finding out that he is the brother of lawyer Emmanuel Buenaventura, the former counsel of the late Rep. Reynaldo Umali.

Umali chaired the congress panel that conducted hearings that implicated De Lima in the drug trade at New Bilibid Prison.

Alcantara acquitted De Lima in her second drug case last May due to the recantation of the prosecution’s key witnesses.

The next hearing of the prosecution’s evidence is set on July 7, according to the order. —Abby Boiser

READ: Leila de Lima acquitted in 2nd drug case