Court sets May deadline for gov't witnesses to testify in 2 of 3 De Lima cases

The Muntinlupa judge handling two of three drug cases against Senator Leila de Lima has given government prosecutors until May to present their witnesses, the senator's lawyer said Friday.

Prosecutors will have to complete the presentation of their witnesses and rest their case by May 29, said De Lima lawyer Filibon Tacardon.

"Prosecutors were warned to complete the presentation of their witnesses on or before the deadline imposed by the judge," Tacardon said in a message.

Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said prosecutors confirmed the May deadline.

"They are confident that they can present their witnesses within the period given them," he said.

At that point, De Lima's lawyers would either file a demurrer to evidence -- a pleading seeking a case dismissal based only on prosecution evidence -- or present evidence in the senator's defense, Tacardon said after a Friday hearing in Muntinlupa.

Judge Liezel Aquiatan is conducting trial for Criminal Cases No. 17-165 and 17-166, two of the three cases against De Lima for conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading. The third case, 17-167, is pending before another Muntinlupa court branch that has recently been assigned a new judge.

Tacardon said the prosecution has lined up eight more witnesses for case 165 and 11 for case 166. These witnesses would be from the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), he said.

"'Yung ibang mga witnesses nila na nakalista dati, tinanggal nila at nagpalit sila ng mga bago," he said.

No more convicted prisoner will testify in the two cases except Jaybee Sebastian and Peter Co, the lawyer said.

According to De Lima's team, the same 11 prosecution witnesses have testified in cases 165 and 166, including Baguio City mayor and former police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Benjamin Magalong, former BuCor OIC Rafael Ragos, NBI intel agent Jovencio Ablen, and inmates Nonilo Arile and Hans Tan.

Convicts Reynante Diaz and Engelberto Durano were among the six prosecution witnesses who have taken the stand in case 167.

De Lima has long protested convicted prisoners taking the stand, claiming a "state witness" must not have been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the inmates are just "ordinary witnesses."

A staunch administration critic, De Lima has been detained for almost three years over allegations of having been involved in the New Bilibid Prison drug trade when she was secretary of the Department of Justice. She denies the charges. —LDF, GMA News