Guevarra: No official order from Ombudsman yet on De Lima's complaint

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra on Friday said that he has yet to receive an official communication from the Office of the Ombudsman regarding the complaint filed against him by former Senator Leila de Lima.

“I have not received any official communication from the Ombudsman regarding that matter,” Guevarra said in an interview on CNN.

"But the next course of action on my part, at the very least, is under study," added Guevarra. 

This comes after the Court of Appeals granted De Lima’s petition and reversed the decision of the Ombudsman, which junked outright her complaints in relation to the government's use of convicted criminals as state witnesses in her illegal drug trading case.

The appellate court declared the notices void for lack of due process and remanded the case to the Ombudsman.

In her complaint, De Lima accused former Justice Secretary Vitallianio Aguirre of alleged dereliction of duty and graft for admitting criminals who were convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude as state witnesses.

She said this violated Section 10(f) of Republic Act 6981, also known as the Witness Protection, Security, and Benefit Act.

Meanwhile, Guevarra, also a former Justice Secretary, was accused of “continuing the illegal admission” of the convicts into the Witness Protection, Security, and Benefit Program.

De Lima was recently released on bail in her remaining drug case.

She was accused of benefiting from the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison during her stint as secretary of the Department of Justice.

De Lima’s first acquittal came in February 2021 when the Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 205 junked one of her three cases. On May 12, the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 acquitted her and Ronnie Dayan, her co-accused and former bodyguard. —Joahna Lei Casilao/ VAL, GMA Integrated News