Duterte appointee Tijam notes 'undue haste' in filing of De Lima petition

Newly appointed Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Noel Tijam on Tuesday echoed the observations of some magistrates that Senator Leila De Lima may have ignored the hierarchy of courts when she challenged her arrest over drug-related charges directly before the high tribunal.

During the resumption of oral arguments at the SC, Tijam noted that the presumption of innocence is still in De Lima's favor as the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court has not yet proven her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

"But I have some grave concern about the undue haste by which you came to this court compelling us to make a pronouncement on the issue of jurisdiction," Tijam said.

Tijam's position was in sync with Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr. and Diosdado Peralta, who both cited the importance of exhaustion of remedies with the lower courts before ultimately running to the SC.

"To me, the procedure should have been--you go first to the RTC and if you do not get a favorable decision, then go here to the Court," Peralta said.

De Lima's camp has repeatedly pointed out how the Department of Justice and the Office of Solicitor General could not agree on the nature of her offense, the Muntinlupa City court handling the case lacked jurisdiction, and the charges in connection with De Lima's alleged complicity in the New Bilibid Prison drug trade did not have merit.

"In the case of the petitioner, you have a situation where the prosecutors don't have the authority to prosecute notwithstanding their clear duty to refer the case to the Office of the Ombudsman," Hilbay said during the first round of oral arguments on March 14.

Tijam, however, reminded Hilbay that as an officer of the court, his "primordial duty" is not to serve the interest of his client.

"Therefore it is incumbent upon you to advice your client to abide by the petition process, you should abide by pronounced doctrines and rules like forum shopping and hierarchy of courts," Tijam said.

Tijam is the second appointee of President Rodrigo Duterte in the high court.

Associate Justice Samuel Martires, another  Duterte appointee, meanwhile, asked Hilbay if the rights of a senator are superior to the rights of an ordinary citizen.

In response, Hilbay said anyone can avail of the remedy of going up to the SC if the prosecutors handling the case like the DOJ did not have jurisdiction.

"We're asking for relief from this Court precisely because of the actions by the government with respect to petitioner (De Lima). Regardless of who it was, I would imagine that person would be entitled to the same relief," Hilbay said.

Hilbay added Judge Juanita Guerrero of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 ignored "red flags" when she ordered De Lima's arrest without first resolving the senator's motion to quash.

“There are so many red flags in this case that the judge could not have bypassed: the fact that petitioner is Salary Grade 31, the fact that the petitioner was secretary of justice at the time the alleged events took place, and the fact that the information itself alleges that the acts were performed in abuse of authority," he said. 

But Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza noted that the rules of criminal procedure did not state that a judge must first rule on the motion to quash based on the ground of lack of jurisdiction.

De Lima, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, is said to have conspired with high-profile inmates to sell or trade illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison during her term as justice secretary in exchange for millions of pesos supposedly for her senatorial campaign — an allegation she has strongly denied. —KBK/RSJ, GMA News