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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Metro Manila devider De Lima on CA's order to probe ex-DOJ secretaries: Wheels of justice continue to turn

De Lima on CA's order to probe ex-DOJ secretaries: Wheels of justice continue to turn

Published Nov 26, 2023 06:02 am

Former senator Leila de Lima commended the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) ordering the Ombudsman to investigate former justice secretaries Vitaliano Aguirre II and Menardo Guevarra in relation to her drug cases. 

The CA ordered the Ombudsman to probe Aguirre and Guevarra for granting state witness status and immunity to convicted criminals in violation of the Witness Protection Law. 

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(From left) Former DOJ secretary Menardo Guevarra, former senator Leila de Lima and former DOJ secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II (Photos: DOJ website, Noel Pabalate, Jonathan Hicap)
 

The convicted criminals are witnesses of the DOJ against De Lima in three drug cases filed by the agency in February 2017 in Muntinlupa .

De Lima has questioned the granting of immunity to the persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who testified against her. 

“The wheels of justice continue to turn. Last Nov. 21, the Court of Appeals ordered the Ombudsman to investigate former Secretaries of Justice Vitaliano Aguirre II and Menardo Guevarra for granting state witness status and immunity to convicted criminals in violation of the Witness Protection Law,” De Lima said in a statement. 

She added, “Previously, the Ombudsman peremptorily dismissed the criminal and administrative cases I filed against the two, without even conducting an investigation or asking them to answer the complaint. I appealed the administrative aspect of the complaint to the Court of Appeals and the criminal aspect to the Supreme Court. Hopefully, the SC will also decide favorably soon.”

“I filed the complaint with the Ombudsman in Oct. 2018 and appealed the Ombudsman decision dismissing my complaint in Nov. 2020 with the CA and the following month with the SC,” she said. 

According to De Lima, “With the reversal of the Ombudsman dismissal by the CA, I expect the Ombudsman to now conduct a full investigation of both Aguirre and Guevarra or, at the very least, to require Guevarra to answer the administrative aspect of the case and defend his role in propping up criminal convicts as state witnesses even if they are disqualified from being granted immunity under the law.”

Two of the three drug cases filed by the DOJ against De Lima were dismissed by Muntinlupa courts. 

In the last remaining case, 17-167, Presiding Judge Gener Gito of the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 206 granted bail amounting to P300,000 each to De Lima former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director Franklin Jesus Bucayu, Ronnie Dayan, Joenel Sanchez and Jose Adrian Dera. 

“Wherefore, premises considered, the respective Motions for Reconsideration of the concerned accused are granted. Thus, the Order of the Court dated June 07, 2023, is reconsidered. Consequently, accused De Lima, Bucayu, Dayan, Sanchez and Dera are allowed to post bail in the amount of three hundred thousand pesos (P300,000.00) each,” the judge ruled. 

After posting bail, De Lima was released from detention at Camp Crame on Nov. 13. 

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Muntinlupa City DOJ Leila de Lima
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