Muntinlupa court grants, denies De Lima's motions to dismiss drug cases
A Muntinlupa court has granted and denied detained Sen. Leila de Lima’s motions to have her two drug cases dismissed.
Presiding Judge Liezel Aquiatan issued two separate decisions on Feb. 17 for cases 17-166 and 17-165, in which De Lima is charged with conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa when she was the justice secretary.
De Lima filed two demurrers to evidence, which are motions seeking to dismiss the drug cases on the ground that the prosecution failed to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
“Wherefore, the Demurrer to Evidence filed by accused Leila de Lima y Magistrado is hereby granted. The Petition for Bail is rendered moot and academic as the grant of a demurrer is tantamount to her acquittal,” Aquiatan wrote in a decision for case 17-166.
In 17-166, De Lima and Jose Adrian Dera are accused of demanding money and vehicles in 2016 from prisoner Peter Co, who allegedly traded illegal drugs and gave the proceeds to the senator through Dera consisting of P3 million and four vehicles.
In the decision, the court stated “the prosecution here must establish first the connection or relation between the two accused to be able to establish that Dera indeed received the proceeds of illegal drug trading on behalf of De Lima. However, the prosecution failed to do so.”
“Consequently, the prosecution fails to establish any conspiracy between De Lima and Dera as there was nothing to link the two together. De Lima was merely mentioned when Dera allegedly asked for the ransom money in the guise of contributions to De Lima's campaign funds. There was no evidence that could prove that any money received by Dera benefited De Lima. There was also no evidence of De Lima's participation in the allegations stated in the Amended Information as the period covered in the information was 'March 2016 and the period prior and subsequent thereto,'” the court ruled.
In the same decision, the court denied Dera’s demurrer to evidence but granted his petition for bail and allowed him to post a bond amounting to P500,000.
In case 17-165, De Lima and Ronnie Dayan are accused of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading allegedly through NBP inmates, who gave P10 million to the two in November and December 2012.
In the decision, the court denied De Lima and Dayan’s demurrers to evidence and petitions for bail.
“Taking into consideration the pieces of evidence of the prosecution collectively perused and analyzed, the Court is convinced that the evidence of guilt is strong,” the court ruled.