De Lima urges court to bar convicts from testifying against her

Senator Leila de Lima has appealed to a local court to rule on her motion to disqualify convicted criminals from testifying for the government's illegal drug case against her.

The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court's Branch 206 has yet to decide on the opposition lawmaker's motion seeking to disqualify 13 prosecution witnesses who are serving a sentence of reclusion perpetua.

De Lima faces charges for her alleged involvement in the New Bilibid Prison drug trade while she was Secretary of Justice. Crying political persecution, she has denied all allegations.

Citing Republic Act. No. 6981 or the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act, De Lima's lawyers argued that state witnesses must not have been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude.

Moral turpitude is defined as an "act or behavior that gravely violates moral sentiment or accepted moral standards of community and is a morally culpable quality held to be present in some criminal offenses as distinguished from others."

Crimes that involve moral turpitude include robbery, consummated or attempted murder and homicide, extortion, and violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act, De Lima's motion said, citing jurisprudence.

Filed September 3, the motion lists the following prosecution witnesses and the crimes they have been convicted of:

• Nonilo Arile - Murder and kidnapping
• Jojo Baligad - Murder
• Herbert Colanggo - Robbery with homicide
• Engelberto Durano - Frustrated murder and murder
• Rodolfo Magleo - Kidnapping for ransom
• Vicente Sy - Illegal sale and delivery of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu)
• Hans Tan - Robbery and direct assault with murder
• Froilan Trestiza - Kidnapping
• Peter Co - Illegal sale and delivery of shabu
• Noel Martinez - Kidnapping for ransom
• Joel Capones - Homicide
• German Agojo - Illegal sale and delivery of shabu
• Jaime Patcho - Kidnapping for ransom

"The above-enumerated State Witnesses of the Prosecution have all been already convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude. They are therefore disqualified from being State Witnesses and from being granted immunity under Sections 10 and 12 of RA 6981," De Lima's motion said.

"Their exclusion from the information is therefore illegal and without basis. Even if they testify, they cannot avail of immunity that was granted illegally and that is void ab initio," it added.

De Lima is being tried over allegations of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading, after the government altered its original charge of illegal drug trading.

The prosecution has started presenting its witnesses.  —KBK, GMA News