CA to Ombudsman: Act on De Lima's complaints vs Aguirre, Guevarra

The Court of Appeals has granted former Senator Leila de Lima’s petition for the Office of the Ombudsman to act on her administrative complaints against former Department of Justice (DOJ) secretaries Vitaliano Aguirre II and Menardo Guevarra.

In a decision dated November 21, the CA Special 17th Division granted De Lima’s petition to reverse the decision of the Ombudsman, which junked outright her complaints in relation to the government's use of convicted criminals as state witnesses in her illegal drug trading case.

''The assailed notices of the Ombudsman are hereby declared void for lack of due process. Accordingly, this case is remanded to the Ombudsman for appropriate action for a proper disposition of this case,'' the CA said.

De Lima was recently freed on bail after nearly seven years in detention on allegations that she was involved in the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison during her term as DOJ chief. She has consistently denied the charges. —Sherylin Untalan/VBL, GMA Integrated News