De Lima says SC ruling on Arroyo case 'disappointing'

Sen. Leila de Lima on Tuesday expressed dismay over the Supreme Court’s decision to junk the plunder case against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, saying the tribunal appears to have replaced the Sandiganbayan’s role as the trier of facts.

De Lima, who was Justice Secretary under the Aquino administration, which pursued the case against Arroyo, questioned the timing of the release of the SC’s ruling even as she admitted that she has yet to read the decision, as well as the dissenting opinions of the four magistrates.

"I have not seen yet the decision. I understand it’s not a unanimous decision. There are dissenting opinions. I’d be so interested to read the dissenting opinion," said De Lima, who headed the Commission on Human Rights during the Arroyo administration.

"Ang top of mind reaction ko lang is: ‘What’s happening?’ These are trying times and first, why did they have to wait for the change in administration to issue that ruling?" she told reporters at the Senate.

However, the senator said she already predicted Arroyo's possible release when the Supreme Court granted former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile's petition to post bail for a plunder case in 2015.

"Sabi ko, baka ang isunod nila the case of the former President because we are seeing here situations when the SC seem to assume the role now of trier of facts. Kasi yung Sandiganbayan, several times na yan na ni-reject the plea for bail and demurrer to evidence, etc. because the Sandiganbayan is the trier of facts here," De Lima said.

In ruling in Arroyo’s favor, De Lima said the Supreme Court undermined the Sandiganbayan’s role as the trier of facts because it said that the evidence of guilt against the former President is not strong.

“It’s disappointing,” she said.

Under De Lima’s watch as Justice Secretary, the DOJ undertook the preliminary investigation of plunder cases filed against Arroyo, including her alleged misuse of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds.

In 2011, she stopped Arroyo, now a re-elected congresswoman, from leaving the country despite the SC’s issuance of temporary restraining order stopping the government from enforcing watch list orders barring Arroyo and her husband, Jose Miguel, from traveling abroad.

Although it was the Ombudsman who prosecuted Arroyo, De Lima said she was dismayed that the former President is set to walk free, which she said is a big blow to the Aquino administration’s anti-corruption drive.

"As part of the PNoy administration, I am disheartened by that," she said, referring to the ruling. "The PNoy administration was adamant firm in its anti-corruption campaign." —KBK, GMA News