Two Muntinlupa courts have allowed detained reelectionist Senator Leila de Lima to vote in the May 9 national and local elections.
The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branches 204 and 256 have granted De Lima’s motion for furlough she filed on April 11.
On May 9, De Lima will be escorted from her detention facility at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame to vote at polling precinct 0648A at Saint Rita College in Paranaque where she is a registered voter.
“Accused De Lima is hereby allowed to exercise her right to vote as a PDL pursuant to Rule VI, Section 41 of the Comelec Resolution No. 10768, on election day, May 9, 2022 from 9:00 o'clock in the morning to 12:00 o'clock in the afternoon provided that she shall bear all the necessary cost and expenses for her transport from the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City to her polling place in Prec. No. 0648A, Saint Rita College, Paranaque City,” according to the order issued by Presiding Judge Romeo Buenaventura of the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 256.
The order added, “The Jail Warden of the Custodial Service Unit, PNP Custodial Center (PNPCC) is directed to bring accused to her polling place in Prec. No. 0648A, Saint Rita College, Paranaque City, and shall ensure at all times that existing health protocols, and security and escorting procedures are strictly observed, and that no media interview or any form of online/media coverage shall be entertained during the course of the furlough.”
“After casting her vote, accused De Lima shall be immediately returned by the jail escorts to her detention facility at PNP Custodial Center, Camp Crame,” the court said.
The two courts are handling De Lima’s two drug cases filed by the Department of Justice in 2017.
Last May 6, De Lima filed a motion and asked the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 to dismiss her case after the prosecution’s key witness, Rafael Ragos, former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge, recanted all his statements and testimonies against the senator and declared that he did not give her P10 million in 2012, which allegedly came from the drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.