DOJ to seek reversal of Alabang Boys’ acquittal

Despite the odds, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday said it would seek a reversal of the decision of a Muntinlupa City regional trial court clearing two of the so-called “Alabang Boys” of drug charges.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Judge Juanita Guerrero may have had committed “gross misappreciation of procedure” that led to the acquittal of Richard Brodett and Jorge Joseph on Aug. 26.

De Lima met behind closed doors with former Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Dionisio Santiago, anticrime crusader Dante Jimenez, Prosecutor General Claro Arellano and other PDEA agents to discuss the possibility of seeking a reconsideration.

“We decided to file a motion for reconsideration,” De Lima told reporters after the meeting.

“It’s our consensus that the judge erred in her decision. There is some gross misappreciation of procedure especially in terms of the supposed broken chain of custody,” she said.

While they recognize that pursuing a reversal of a court decision to acquit an accused would violate the principle of double jeopardy, De Lima said they were still hoping that Guerrero would change her mind.

“Although there are very few exceptions to that rule, we will still try,” she said.

The justice secretary lamented that Guerrero focused her decision on the alleged failure of the PDEA custodian of evidence to maintain the integrity of the seized illegal drugs from the accused when Santiago presented the confiscated items in a press briefing.

“She focused on the alleged break in chain of custody. The judge made a lot of fuss about that press conference of General Santiago and (former PDEA agent) Major Ferdinand Marcelino,” she said. “She made a mountain out of a molehill.”

De Lima also noted that Guerrero was the same judge who denied Brodett and Joseph’s motion for bail because the evidence presented by PDEA “were enough to a warrant a conviction.”

“In the first place, she ruled that there was a valid buy-bust operation. So if there was a valid buy-bust operation, why did she not consider the evidence as admissible just because of a perceived break in the link?” De Lima asked.