Koko Pimentel: De Lima a 'candidate beneficiary' of SC ruling in Gigi Reyes petition

The case of former Senator Leila de Lima is a "candidate beneficiary" of the Supreme Court decision, granting the petition for a writ of habeas corpus of Jessica Lucila "Gigi" Reyes, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said on Friday.

Reyes is a former Senate chief of staff of Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile. Until Thursday night, she has been detained on a charge for plunder since July 2014.

The SC First Division in a resolution dated January 17 granted Reyes' petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

It said, "Her confinement, though in accordance with a court order of the Sandiganbayan, violates her constitutional right to speedy trial and infringes on her right to liberty."

“[T]he Leila de Lima case is a candidate beneficiary of the equal application of this latest SC ruling,” Pimentel said in a text message.

Pimentel said the SC ruling focused on the accountability of the state in respecting the right to speedy trial and disposition of cases.

“Nine years under arrest, with no ruling at the trial level is indeed a ‘red flag’ which the highest court should address," Pimentel said.

"However, the same principle enunciated in the Gigi Reyes case must be extended to all, especially the poor who may not be represented by vigilant counsel,” he added.

“The latest decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Gigi Reyes should equally apply to all Filipinos who have been suffering from prolonged detention due to the country’s slow justice system,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel said there were thousands of Filipinos, mostly poor Filipinos who couldn’t afford a lawyer, who are detained for prolonged periods without any progress on their cases.

De Lima has been detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center inside Camp Crame since February 2017 over allegations that she benefited from the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison when she was Justice secretary.

At least two witnesses, confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa and former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos have taken back their testimonies against De Lima.

Enrile and his co-accused, including Reyes, are alleged to have amassed P172.8 million in kickbacks from 2004 to 2010 through non-government organizations associated with former businesswoman Janet Napoles.

The 98-year-old former senator spent over a year under hospital arrest before the SC granted him bail on humanitarian grounds in August 2015. —NB, GMA Integrated News