No immediate arrest of De Lima seen; motions to quash cases filed

DEFIANT Sen. Leila de Lima tells reporters it is time to unseat President Duterte, describing him as the country’s top criminal.
—MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Sen. Leila de Lima isn’t about to be arrested any time soon.

The three branches of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) assigned to handle illegal drug cases against De Lima scheduled separate hearings on Friday on her motions to quash.

De Lima insists that the Office of the Ombudsman, instead of the Department of Justice (DOJ), should have investigated the charges against her because she was the justice secretary when the alleged crimes were committed.

She has denied wrongdoing and has accused the Duterte administration of persecuting her for her criticism of its bloody war on drugs.

The Ombudsman’s mandate is to investigate accusations against public officials who are then prosecuted in the Sandiganbayan if evidence warrants it.

Personnel of the Muntinlupa RTC Branches 204, 205 and 206 told the Inquirer that they had yet to hear from De Lima, who had filed motions to quash the information (charge sheet), and to hold the issuance of warrant of arrest against her pending the final resolution of the question of the jurisdiction.

Confidence in judiciary

“I actually rely now on the judiciary, on the sense of independence, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and judiciousness of the courts as an independent branch of government,” De Lima said in a press conference on Tuesday.

She noted how her indictment came from a department directly under her chief accusers, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and President Duterte.

Using the testimonies of drug convicts, the DOJ had sent to court three of five complaints against De Lima, which accuse her of profiting from the drug trade inside New Bilibid Prison (NBP) when she was justice secretary with direct supervision over the national penitentiary.

Prejudged

A separate graft case against her was referred to the Office of the Ombudsman for investigation, while another case based on confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa’s testimony was dismissed.

“They have long prejudged me. That’s why I was no longer surprised by their so-called finding of probable cause [against me],” De Lima said.

“We have the principle of exhaustion of remedies. And we still have an available remedy, and that is the motions we filed—the motions to quash and the motions for judicial determination of probable cause,” she said.

If the RTC branches deny her motions—three to quash the criminal information and one seeking judicial determination of probable cause and stopping the issuance of an arrest warrant—she may go up to the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.

“Theoretically, procedurally, and legally, they should not issue an arrest warrant precisely [because] they have to hear and study the grounds we laid down in these pleadings, particularly the issue of jurisdiction in the motions to quash,” De Lima said.

“That should be the correct rule. It won’t be right if they suddenly issue a warrant of arrest even before holding or conducting the hearings,” she said.

And even after declaring jurisdiction over the cases, De Lima said the court would still have to determine probable cause first before it could rightfully order her arrest.

Drugs act violations

De Lima is facing three counts of violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, particularly Section 5 (sale) in relation to Section 3 (trading), and Sections 26(b) and 28, pertaining to her criminal liability as a government official, filed by the DOJ.

RTC Branch 204 Judge Juanita Guerrero will handle Criminal Case No. 17-165, with coaccused Ronnie Dayan, De Lima’s former driver and lover, and Rafael Ragos, former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer in charge and National Bureau of Investigation deputy director.

Judge Amelia Fabros-Corpuz of Branch 205 will handle Criminal Case No. 17-166 with De Lima’s nephew Jose Adrian Dera as his coaccused.

Judge Patria Manalastas-De Leon of Branch 206 will handle Criminal Case No. 17-167 with coaccused Dera, former BuCor chief Franklin Jesus Bucayu and his alleged bagman Wilfredo Elli, De Lima’s former aide Joenel Sanchez, and NBP high-profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian.

The cases were based on the complaints by the NBI and watchdog group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption using testimonies during the House of Representatives’ inquiry on the alleged proliferation of illegal drugs in the NBP during De Lima’s term as justice secretary.

Oust Duterte

De Lima has remained defiant.

During the news conference, she said it was time to unseat Mr. Duterte, whom she described as “the No. 1 criminal in the Philippines, if not the world.”

“To the members of the Cabinet, you can save our country from a criminal President through declaring that because of his criminal mind, he has no capacity to perform the duties of a President,” she said.

De Lima called Mr. Duterte a “murderer and sociopathic serial killer,” citing disclosures retired SPO3 Arthur Lascañas made on Monday that he committed murders as a leader of the Davao Death Squad, on orders of then Mayor Duterte.