Court of Appeals nullifies Leila De Lima's drug case acquittal
The Court of Appeals revoked the decision of a lower court to acquit former senator Leila De Lima, as well as her co-accused Ronnie Palisoc Dayan, in one of her drug cases.
In a 12-page decision written by CA Associate Justice Eleuterio Bathan, the appellate court declared null and void the decision of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 to clear De Lima of the allegations that she is involved in the drug operations in the New Bilibid Prison during her time as Department of Justice secretary.
It found that the Muntinlupa Court failed to discuss its basis for the acquittal, as it appeared to only rely on the recantation of former corrections official Rafael Ragos.
"In the assailed Decision and Order, the public respondent acquitted the private respondents on the sole basis of the recantation of witness Ragos. He lauded that the testimony of witness Ragos is necessary to sustain any possible conviction, and, without his testimony, the crucial link to establish conspiracy is shrouded with reasonable doubt," the CA stated.
Specifically, the CA said that the RTC did not fulfill the following:
- state the particular statements which witness Ragos specifically retracted;
- state in particular the effects of the retracted statements to the facts proven by the prosecution; and
- state which particular element of the crime charged was not proven.
Moreover, a detailed discussion of the specific element of the crime was lacking, and the lower court merely concluded that the recantation of Ragos effectively discredited the claim of conspiracy.
Because of this, the CA is "left to speculate as to which facts were disregarded and the extent to which such retractions influenced the outcome of the case."
"The failure to comply with the constitutional injunction is a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction," it said. "There is a need to judiciously examine the evidence with care and prudence in order not to evade a positive duty mandated by the supreme law of the land.
"Judges are expected to exhibit more than just a cursory acquaintance with statutes and procedural laws. They must know the laws and apply them properly in good faith, as judicial competence requires no less," they continued.
The case has now been remanded to the RTC Branch 204 of Muntinlupa City for it to decide the case based on the rules indicated in the decision.
The ML party-list first nominee cleared her name in another drug case after Ragos retracted his statements against De Lima, creating "reasonable doubt" over the accusations against her.
The RTC Branch 204 first cleared De Lima and Dayan of their case in May 2023. Afterwards, her other pending drug cases were dismissed in 2021 and 2024.
De Lima is known as one of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s fiercest critics amid his bloody war on drugs. The latter accused her of running a drug trafficking ring with criminals when she was justice secretary, forcing her from the Senate into a jail cell.
She served five years of her six-year term as senator in police detention despite key witnesses retracting their allegations since then.
Throughout the legal proceedings, De Lima has insisted that the charges against her had been trumped up in retaliation for going after Duterte and his drug war.
In a statement, De Lima said that she has read the decision of the CA.
"Kataka-taka itong desisyon na ito na mistulang pinapaulit ng CA ang pagkakasulat ng desisyon ng RTC dahil daw hindi ito masyadong malinaw," she said, as per ABS-CBN News.
She added that she will appeal the CA's decision to the Supreme Court, if needed.
"Final and unappealable ang aking acquittal dahil sa prinsipyo ng double jeopardy, habang appealable pa naman hanggang Supreme Court ang desisyon ng CA. Sa ngayon, mas matimbang pa rin ang pagpapawalang-sala sa akin ng RTC."
Editor's Note: The headline and lede of this article have been edited for accuracy.
