De Lima now expects Ombudsman to probe ex-DOJ chiefs Aguirre, Guevarra

Former Senator Leila de Lima INQUIRER file photo / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — Former Senator Leila de Lima is expecting the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct a thorough probe on former justice secretaries Vitaliano Aguirre II and Menardo Guevarra for allegedly granting state witness status and immunity to convicted felons, which she said violates the Witness Protection Law.

De Lima’s statement came after the CA remanded the case to the Ombudsman “for appropriate action for a proper disposition” after it likewise declared the latter’s decision “void for lack of due process” last November 21.

READ: CA reverses Ombudsman’s junking of de Lima’s cases vs Aguirre, Guevarra

“The wheels of justice continue to turn,” de Lima said.

“With the reversal of the Ombudsman dismissal by the CA, I expect the Ombudsman to now conduct a full investigation of both Aguirre and Guevarra or, at the very least, to require Guevarra to answer the administrative aspect of the case and defend his role in propping up criminal convicts as state witnesses even if they are disqualified from being granted immunity under the law,” the former senator added.

On October 29, 2018, de Lima accused Aguirre of admitting convicted felons with crimes “involving moral turpitude” as state witnesses, which she said violated Section 10 of Republic Act (RA) 6981 or Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act.

In a 22-page complaint affidavit submitted to the Ombudsman, De Lima likewise accused him of committing “felony of dereliction of duty” for violating Section 3 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or RA 3019.

READ: De Lima files criminal, administrative raps vs Aguirre, Guevarra

On the other hand, a complaint for allowing illegal admission of convicted felons into the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Program and “gross misconduct and negligence” were also filed against Guevarra.

However, in 2019 and 2020, the Ombudsman “dismissed outright” de Lima’s criminal and administrative complaints against the respondents and denied her motion for reconsideration.

After this, she filed a petition to reverse the ruling.

“[…] I appealed the administrative aspect of the complaint to the Court of Appeals and the criminal aspect to the Supreme Court (SC). Hopefully, the SC will also decide favorably soon,” de Lima said.

READ: De Lima finally steps out of Camp Crame after almost 7 years

The former senator was temporarily freed after the Muntinlupa court allowed her to post bail last November 13. On the same day, she was released from the custodial facility of the Philippine National Police after nearly seven years of detention.

Based on previous reports, the former senator was arrested in 2017 for drug allegations. De Lima maintained her innocence and repeatedly denied the accusations against her.

She was first acquitted in February 2021 after one of the three cases filed against her was junked by the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 205. Last May 12, the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 likewise cleared both de Lima and former aide Ronnie Dayan on charges related to the illegal drug trade.