De Lima's last drug case raffled to judge in acquittal

The trial on former Senator Leila de Lima's remaining drug case will resume early next month with a new judge in charge.

The case will be heard by Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 204 Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara starting on July 7 following a re-raffle, according to an order he issued on June 29.

Government prosecutors are expected to present their witnesses or evidence on that day.

Alcantara was the judge who acquitted De Lima in the drug case involving former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos and her former driver-bodyguard Ronnie Dayan, citing ''reasonable doubt.''

Ragos had claimed that he and aide Jovencio Ablen Jr. delivered P5 million in proceeds from the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison to De Lima's house in Parañaque City in 2012.

In May 2022, Ragos retracted his testimony against De Lima.

"Under the circumstances of this case, the testimony of witness Ragos is necessary to sustain any possible conviction. Without his testimony, the crucial link to establishing conspiracy is shrouded with reasonable doubt," Alcantara said in a decision released last month.

"Hence, this Court is constrained to consider the subsequent retraction of witness Ragos. Ultimately, the retraction created reasonable doubt, which warrants the acquittal of both accused," the judge added.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the acquittal showed that the country's justice system was working.

De Lima's other drug case was dismissed in February 2021.

The re-raffle stemmed from the decision of Branch 256 Judge Romeo Buenaventura to quit the trial on June 15 on allegations that he failed to disclose that his brother had served as a lawyer for the late Oriental Mindoro lawmaker Reynaldo Umali.

Umali led a congressional inquiry in 2016 into De Lima's alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade in the NBP in exchange for election campaign funds.

"Simply put, the suspicion of the accused-movants, while unfounded if not contrived, cannot be ignored since it already tarnished the integrity and impartiality of the Court as well as the needed trust and confidence in all subsequent proceedings in the instant case," Buenaventura said.

"For this reason, the undersigned Presiding Judge will exercise his discretion and will recuse himself from further hearing this case, not because the allegations are true but because it is his avowed duty as a member of the Bench to promote confidence in the judicial system," he added.

Buenaventura was asked to inhibit by some of De Lima's co-accused after he denied her bail petition. The former senator had also submitted a motion for inhibition against Buenaventura, but it was not taken up.

De Lima had pleaded for temporary freedom on the grounds that she is now a senior citizen and has several health issues that have necessitated several medical furloughs.

However, Buenventura said that De Lima is "not suffering from any serious or life-threatening health condition."

He also viewed the incident in which De Lima was briefly held hostage in October 2022 as an isolated incident.

De Lima has repeatedly denied the charges against her, which she claimed to have been fabricated by the Duterte administration. 

She has been detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City, since February 2017.  —VBL, GMA Integrated News