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De Lima wants court to recall third arrest warrant over drug case


Detained Senator Leila de Lima has asked a Muntinlupa City court to recall the third arrest warrant issued against her in relation to the trading of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison during her term as justice secretary.

De Lima, through her lawyers, filed a motion for reconsideration calling on Judge Patria Manalastas-De Leon of the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 206 to lift the arrest order issued on November 16 and defer her arraignment set for December 8.

Apart from De Lima, the court also ordered the arrest of former Bureau of Corrections director Franklin Bucayu, NBP inmate Jaybee Sebastian, Wilfredo Elli, De Lima’s former aides Joenel Sanchez and Ronnie Dayan, and Jose Adrian Dera.

De Lima and Dayan are already under government custody.

“It is incumbent upon this Court to hold in abeyance the scheduled arraignment. Otherwise, such an act would be tantamount to this Court pre-empting the Supreme Court, and arrogating unto herself the authority to have a final say on the jurisprudential effect of the Supreme Court’s decision,” the motion stated.

De Lima was referring to her appeal to the SC to overturn its October 10 decision upholding the arrest warrant issued by Judge Juanita Guerrero of the Muntinlupa City RTC for the crime of illegal drug trading.

Another judge, Amelia Fabros-Corpuz of RTC Branch 205, issued an arrest warrant for the same offense last June.

De Lima urged Judge De Leon to review what she called “fatal deficiency” or infirmity in the information filed against her.

The neophyte senator said the charge sheet failed to identify the actual seller of the illegal drugs, the identity of the buyer, the kind and quantity of the illegal drugs sold or traded, the consideration and the delivery of the illegal drugs, and the actual payment.

“Without these elements, alleged in the Information, the actual sale or trade of dangerous drugs can never be established,” she said.

“It is impossible for the Honorable Court to determine the existence of probable cause for the issuance of a warrant of arrest since the Information is deficient of any of the essential elements charged,” De Lima added.

De Lima said that in the two other cases pending with RTC Branches 204 and 205, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed separate motions that seek to change the offense charged against her from one of drug trading to conspiracy to trade illegal drugs.

In her opposition to the DOJ move, De Lima said that amending the Information against her violates her constitutional right to know the nature and cause of the accusation against her.

The senator, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, is said to have conspired with high-profile inmates to sell or trade illegal drugs inside the national penitentiary during her term as justice secretary in exchange for millions of pesos supposedly for her senatorial campaign — an allegation she has strongly denied.

She is currently detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City. —KBK, GMA News

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