Senators renew call to free De Lima

Minority senators on Sunday renewed their call to release their fellow legislator Leila De Lima from detention, after representatives from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) affirmed that they found no suspicious transactions between the senator and drug convicts.

“The fraudulently concocted evidence against Senator Leila de Lima is crumbling. This will pave the way to her eventual exoneration and long-deserved freedom," said Senators Risa Hontiveros, Franklin Drilon, and Francis Pangilinan in a joint statement.

According to De Lima’s lawyer Bonni Tacardon, a financial investigator from AMLC and a digital forensic examiner from PDEA have reaffirmed that the senator was not involved in any suspicious transaction that would link her to the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.

The minority senators said that considering that these testimonies were made under oath and that the credibility of the two agencies is at stake, the testifiers "had no reason not to tell the truth."

"Senator De Lima's accusers are merely clutching at straws in a desperate attempt to pin her down for a crime she did not commit," they said.

"She has been unjustly detained for over three years, yet she has shown us only courage, hard work, and efficiency in continuing her work as a legislator. Senator De Lima deserves her freedom now," they added.

Panelo reacts

In response, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo on Sunday said the rule of law must be allowed to prevail.

"Regardless of the exuberant optimism of the opposition senators, the law must take its course. Let the court perform its duty. And let the rule of law prevail," Panelo said in a statement issued on Sunday.

Panelo however said the testimony of the witness from AMLC "does not exculpate De Lima."

"At any rate, what witness Artemio Baculi, Jr. of AMLC said was that even if De Lima’s name was mentioned in the talks among drug lords, he never investigated her. That testimony does not exculpate De Lima. Other witnesses have testified she received money from the drug lords. Baculi also testified that no money flowed to the bank account of De Lima and Dera. That testimony does not prove that she did not receive drug money. It can only mean she did not deposit the money she received from the drug lords in her bank account," he said.

As to the witness from PDEA saying that there were no suspicious phone messages and call logs linking the senator to the illegal drug trade inside NBP, Panelo said transactions "need not be made through cellphones."

"Witness Krystal Caseñas of PDEA testified that based on the messages and call logs extracted from the cell phones submitted by the Bureau of Corrections to PDEA, there were no exchanges of any drug transactions between De Lima and Dera. The drug transactions need not be made through cell phones, it can be made through couriers. De Lima, as a lawyer, knows that bank accounts and messages and call logs on the mobile phones can be used as evidence," he said.

"It is foolhardy for the minority senators to believe the lawyer of De Lima, as he will not make any statement against her client. His evaluation of the testimonial and documentary evidence favouring his client is expected and unsurprising. It is the Court hearing the case that will give evidentiary weight to the evidence presented before it," Panelo said.

"The colleagues of De Lima should focus on their duties on deliberating on the national budget and stop themselves from lawyering for De Lima. That’s not what the taxpayers pay them to do," he added.

"The detained senator has the right to defend herself. Due process is working for her, as it should be. And she is being afforded all the rights and privileges of a person accused of being involved in the drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison while she was Justice Secretary," Panelo said.

He then chided the senators, saying they "should know better."

"As lawmakers, these minority senators should know better. They should know their law, do they? There are remedial processes that may be availed of should they feel that the cases against the embattled senator must be dismissed. Issuing statements before the media is among them. That is a job for the lawyer of De Lima," Panelo said.

De Lima has been in detention since February 2017 due to drug-related charges.

The charges stemmed from allegations that De Lima allowed the illegal drug trade to proliferate inside the New Bilibid Prison during her term as justice secretary supposedly in exchange for funds for her senatorial bid in 2016.

De Lima recently filed two separate and distinct motions for bail both for conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading cases, asserting that the prosecution's evidence against her was not strong and confirmed her innocence of the charges. —LBG/KG, GMA News