Muntinlupa court defers De Lima’s arraignment anew

A Muntinlupa City court on Friday rescheduled anew the arraignment of Senator Leila de Lima for one of the three illegal drugs trading cases she is facing, in relation to her alleged involvement with the proliferation of drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison, the national penitentiary.

Judge Amelia Fabros-Corpuz of Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 205 reset the arraignment to November 24.

Pagbasa ng sakdal kay Sen. Leila de Lima sa Muntinlupa RTC, ipinagpaliban. | via @luisitosantos03 pic.twitter.com/0zeRxDSjBM

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) October 13, 2017

The judge ordered the prosecution to comment first on the pending motions filed by De Lima’s camp.

One of the senator's lawyers, Filibon Tacardon, said his camp and the prosecution had agreed to reschedule the hearing since both camps needed more time to respond to each other's pleadings.

"Yung prosecution, humingi ng panahon para sagutin ang aming MR, na binigyan naman ni judge ng 10 araw," Tacardon said.

"Humingi rin kami ng 5 araw naman para sagutin kung ano man ang maging comment ng prosecution at nag-agree kami na wag na ituloy yung arraignment ni Sen. De Lima. Pinagpaliban namin hanggang Nov. 24, 2017," he added.

They also filed a motion for the court to reconsider its ruling denying De Lima's request for a legislative furlough.

"At the same time, meron din kaming MR para sa denial niya ng application for legislative furlough para kay Sen," Tacardon said.

De Lima's camp reiterated that a legislative furlough would allow her to attend Senate hearings on teenage killings, including that of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos.

"Mahalaga yung furlough kasi Sen. De Lima is still entitled to be presumed as innocent. At the same time, meron siyang mandato ng mga Pilipino bilang senador," Tacardon said.

'Pekeng ebidensya'

Several supporters of De Lima gathered outside the court, shouting “Pekeng ebidensya, ibasura.”

Pekeng Ebidensya, IBASURA! #FreeLeilaNow #OneforLeila #DropTrumpedUpCharges! #StopPoliticalPersecution #WorldisWatching pic.twitter.com/NUWjR7O3Yd

— Leila de Lima (@SenLeiladeLima) October 13, 2017

De Lima has repeatedly denied the charges against her, saying she is a victim of political persecution.

"Nakakalungkot po na tila baga nagbubulag-bulagan ang mga mayorya ng Supreme Court sa patuloy na mga ginagawa sa akin— na panggigipit lamang ito, ng mga huwad na kaso," she told reporters in an ambush interview.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court (SC) voted 9-6 to junk her plea to nullify her arrest. De Lima has been detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame since February. —with Margaret Claire Layug/LBG/MDM, GMA News