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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Metro Manila devider New judge to hear De Lima's last remaining drug case in Muntinlupa 

New judge to hear De Lima's last remaining drug case in Muntinlupa 

Published Jul 12, 2023 04:40 am
A new judge has been assigned to handle the hearings of the last remaining drug case of former senator Leila de Lima in Muntinlupa.  Presiding Judge Gener Gito of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206 will now hear case 17-167.  Former senator Leila de Lima (Juan Carlo De Vela)
The case was raffled off to Gito after two judges who previously handled it inhibited themselves from further hearing it due to petitions by De Lima’s co-accused and government prosecutors.  Gito previously handled case 17-167 and was relieved from it based on a circular issued by the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) in November 2019,  which revoked the “designations as acting presiding judges and assisting judges outside their respective regions.”  The case will now be handled by Gito after Presiding Judge Romeo Buenaventura of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 256 inhibited himself from the case.  In a June 7-dated decision, Buenaventura denied the petitions and motions for bail filed by De Lima and co-accused former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director Franklin Jesus Bucayu, Ronnie Dayan, Joenel Sanchez, and Jose Adrian Dera.  This prompted Bucayu, Dayan, and Sanchez to file motions asking the judge to inhibit himself from hearing the case due to conflict of interest.  After Buenaventura, the case was raffled off to Presiding Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 204.  However, government prosecutors filed a motion asking Alcantara to inhibit from the case. Alcantara acquitted De Lima and Dayan in case 17-165. Alcantara recused from the case.  Case 17-167, filed by the DOJ in February 2017, accused De Lima and others of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading.  The DOJ charged that between March 2013 and May 2015, the accused used inmates at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa to sell and trade dangerous drugs using mobile phones and other electronic devices, and allegedly got the proceeds amounting to P70 million.

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