Drug charges dropped against Leila de Lima

[Mike J]

One charge left and she remains in prison.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/philippine-court-acquits-former-justice-secretary-of-drug-charges-after-key-witnesses-said-they-lied/ar-AA1b4J4M?cvid=ca1ceb9ff98f45759900ee11144e965f&ei=19

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A former Philippine opposition senator and justice secretary was acquitted of drug charges Friday after key witnesses recanted and said they had lied about her involvement in narcotics trafficking.

Leila de Lima, 63, remained jailed, however, as she has one outstanding charge against her.

De Lima has been detained since 2017 on drug charges she says were fabricated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials in an attempt to muzzle her criticism of his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. His campaign left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead and sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity.

Detained former opposition Senator Leila de Lima, center, reacts as she goes out of the Muntinlupa trial court on Friday, May 12, 2023 in Muntinlupa, Philippines. De Lima was acquitted by the Muntinlupa court in one of her drug related charges she says were fabricated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials in an attempt to muzzle her criticism of his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs.

Detained former opposition Senator Leila de Lima, center, reacts as she goes out of the Muntinlupa trial court on Friday, May 12, 2023 in Muntinlupa, Philippines. De Lima was acquitted by the Muntinlupa court in one of her drug related charges she says were fabricated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials in an attempt to muzzle her criticism of his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. 

Duterte, who has insisted on de Lima’s guilt, left office last June at the end of his turbulent six-year term.

Trial court judge Abraham Alcantara said in his ruling that a former senior police official's recantation led to his decision to acquit de Lima.

“Without his testimony, the crucial link to establish conspiracy is shrouded with reasonable doubt,” he wrote, “which warrants the acquittal.”

Detained former opposition Senator Leila de Lima, center, waves as she goes out of the Muntinlupa trial court on Friday, May 12, 2023 in Muntinlupa, Philippines. De Lima was acquitted by the Muntinlupa court in one of her drug related charges she says were fabricated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials in an attempt to muzzle her criticism of his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Detained former opposition Senator Leila de Lima, center, waves as she goes out of the Muntinlupa trial court on Friday, May 12, 2023 in Muntinlupa, Philippines. De Lima was acquitted by the Muntinlupa court in one of her drug related charges she says were fabricated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials in an attempt to muzzle her criticism of his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs.

“Answered prayers, this is a glorious day, this is the beginning of my vindication. May I say this to my oppressors: You can never crucify the truth,” she said as she was surrounded by police.

Prosecution witness Rafael Ragos, a former head of the Bureau of Corrections, retracted a claim to have delivered money from drug lords to de Lima and said he had been forced by government officials to make it.

De Lima said through her attorney that she was looking forward to her full acquittal on all charges. She has been held in pretrial detention since her arrest without any convictions.

Detained former opposition Senator Leila de Lima, center, reacts as she goes out of the Muntinlupa trial court on Friday, May 12, 2023 in Muntinlupa, Philippines. De Lima was acquitted by the Muntinlupa court in one of her drug related charges she says were fabricated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials in an attempt to muzzle her criticism of his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. 

Detained former opposition Senator Leila de Lima, center, reacts as she goes out of the Muntinlupa trial court on Friday, May 12, 2023 in Muntinlupa, Philippines. De Lima was acquitted by the Muntinlupa court in one of her drug related charges she says were fabricated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials in an attempt to muzzle her criticism of his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. (AP 
“I have no doubt from the very beginning that I will be acquitted from all the cases the Duterte regime has fabricated against me based on the merits and strength of my innocence. That’s already two cases down and one more to go,” she said in a statement read out by lawyer, Boni F. Tacardon.

Detained former opposition Senator Leila de Lima, center, reacts as she goes out of the Muntinlupa trial court on Friday, May 12, 2023 in Muntinlupa, Philippines. De Lima was acquitted by the Muntinlupa court in one of her drug related charges she says were fabricated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials in an attempt to muzzle her criticism of his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. 

Detained former opposition Senator Leila de Lima, center, reacts as she goes out of the Muntinlupa trial court on Friday, May 12, 2023 in Muntinlupa, Philippines. De Lima was acquitted by the Muntinlupa court in one of her drug related charges she says were fabricated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and his officials in an attempt to muzzle her criticism of his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. 

“I am of course happy that with this second acquittal in the three cases filed against me, my release from more that six years of persecution draws nearer. I am extremely grateful to those who stood by and prayed for me all these years," she added.

[mountainside]

Filipino Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Ressa would have been Leila de Lima's cellmate if Rodrigo Duterte could have accomplished it.  As so many of us have said in one way or another, the safest policy for most folks in the Philippines is to go along, get along, and never challenge those in power.

Edited May 13, 2023 by mountainside

[Viking]

Can't say that I am surprised.

Question is will anything happen to the witness who confessed that he had lied in his testimony?

Was it only my who had a deja vu feeling reading the article?? 😂

[Old55]

7 hours ago, Viking said:

Can't say that I am surprised.

Question is will anything happen to the witness who confessed that he had lied in his testimony?

Was it only my who had a deja vu feeling reading the article?? 😂

Nope, it's not only you Viking.

I doubt there would be any repercussions for official who presented false testimony. Same for the petty tyrant who put him up to it. 

 

[Lee]

Ex-president Duterte: De Lima's acquittal is 'flawed'

Story by Catherine S. Valente • Yesterday 11:36 PM

 

Quote

 

FORMER president Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said that the acquittal of detained former senator Leila de Lima in her second drug case is "flawed," insisting that "the evidence extant supports a judgement of conviction."

In a statement shared to reporters by his former chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo, Duterte said that as a lawyer he should go by the court ruling, but not in this case of De Lima.

"The judgement of the court should be accepted. Frankly, I'm not interested in the outcome of the case as I have nothing to do with it. I have never interfered with the judicial process. I always say let the law take its course," Duterte said.

"My take: As a lawyer, it is my position that [the] final judgement of a competent court must be accepted no matter how one disagrees with it. In this particular De Lima case, the acquittal is flawed. The evidence extant supports a judgement of conviction," he added.

The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 on Thursday acquitted De Lima and Ronnie Dayan, her co-accused and former bodyguard, of an illegal drug trading charge on the ground of reasonable doubt.

De Lima, who has been detained in Camp Crame since February 2017, was accused of benefiting financially from the alleged illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) during her stint as Justice secretary to support her senatorial bid in 2016.

Rafael Ragos, then former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief, had claimed that he and aide Jovencio Ablen Jr. delivered P5 million in proceeds from the illegal drug trade inside the NBP to De Lima's house in Parañaque City in 2012.

 

However, in May 2022, Ragos retracted his testimony against De Lima.

The court stated that though the prosecution was able to establish the existence of rampant illegal drug trading at the NBP, the retraction of Ragos cast reasonable doubt on De Lima and Dayan's involvement in it.

But Duterte said that the ruling of the court that the recantation of Ragos created a reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused "is grossly erroneous," saying that the claim for recanting his testimony that he was intimidated was never proven.

He also stressed that the recantation in fact "was rebutted in court by his own lawyer who assisted him."

"The court ignorantly did not consider the lack of proof of intimidation claimed by the recanting witness. Neither did it even touch on the rebuttal evidence against the recantation," Duterte said.

In the court's own words, he said that recantation "is exceedingly unreliable because it can be made through intimidation or in exchange for money."

"Since the previous testimony of Ragos was never proved to be coerced or against his will, recantation can never produce any weight to overturn the validity and efficacy [of] the recanted testimony. Necessarily, his testimony can not be discarded," the former president said.

"Given that his original testimony stands, that he delivered drug money, the source of which was established, to the accused, plus the fact that the court itself acknowledged the existence of the drug syndicate composed of detained drug lords who were in fact operating the traffic of illegal drugs inside the national bilibid prisons, the quantum of proof for conviction was present," he added.

 

 

 

Ex-president Duterte: De Lima's acquittal is 'flawed' (msn.com)

[mountainside]

15 hours ago, Old55 said:

I doubt there would be any repercussions for official who presented false testimony. Same for the petty tyrant who put him up to it.

An Inquirer columnist seems to agree:  https://opinion.inquirer.net/163111/the-continuing-saga-of-leila-de-lima  

The continuing saga of Leila de Lima

By: Randy David - @inquirerdotnet

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:02 AM May 14, 2023

To do justice is what the legal system believes to be its function. But that is a self-serving description. From an outsider’s perspective, the law’s function appears to be, strictly speaking, no more than to follow due process, no matter how long this may take. Courts of law rule on the validity of facts and the applicability of laws as these are presented to them. Very rarely, if at all, do they permit themselves to comment beyond what is submitted for resolution, especially if doing so risks incurring the enmity of politically influential individuals.

Nowhere do we see this more starkly than in the continuing legal saga of former justice secretary and former senator Leila de Lima. She has spent the last six years in detention on criminal charges filed by a regime she had been investigating for human rights violations. Critics of the regime have variously described the evidence on which these cases rested as “fabricated,” “contrived,” or “invented.” But nowhere are such words to be found in the court rulings that have pronounced De Lima innocent. She is acquitted, period. Nothing is said about the criminal culpability of those who wickedly masterminded and knowingly participated in the preparation of fake testimonies and the filing of bogus charges that landed her in jail. Since no charges have been filed against these persons, they are of no interest to the courts.

Read more: https://opinion.inquirer.net/163111/the-continuing-saga-of-leila-de-lima#ixzz81eopiRnx
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Edited May 14, 2023 by Old55
Added text of the news article

[Lee]

The acquittal of Leila dilemma            Manila Times

Just a reminder that it's all about who you know.

In 2018, Imelda Marcos was convicted of 7 counts of graft for which she was sentenced to 42 years in jail but then was allowed to post a 300K bail and walk.

 

 

Quote

 

First word

THIS may strike some as counterintuitive, but the principal story that I see in the acquittal of former senator and justice secretary Leila de Lima in two of the three drug cases filed against her is not the victory of justice and innocence, but the failure of another Philippine administration in prosecuting a political opponent.

There is in the record a history of Filipino presidents taking the gloves off and arranging for the prosecution or persecution of their biggest political opponents, and throwing the machinery against them.

But strangely, this tactic has ended more often in failure than success.

This is manifest in three landmark cases.

1. The strenuous effort of then-president Corazon Aquino to send to prison and political oblivion her former defense secretary Juan Ponce Enrile in 1990, for complicity in the December 1989 coup attempt which nearly succeeded. To please her, her justice secretary and lawyers prepared a charge of rebellion complexed with murder against Enrile. It did not take long for the courts and the legal community to see through the patent infirmity of the case. The Supreme Court dismissed the charges in an en banc decision.

2. The multiple attempts of Cory's son, President Benigno Aquino 3rd to send former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to jail by filing innumerable cases against her on various charges of corruption and irregularities in her administration. By stolidly facing and fighting each charge with full conviction of her innocence, GMA won her acquittal and dismissal of all the cases. Not a single charge stood the test of evidence and proof in court.

3. The case of former senator and justice secretary Leila de Lima belongs in the company of these high-profile cases instigated by the wishes of the president and commander in chief. The cases against de Lima were filed and prosecuted during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. Most have fallen short even after six years of keeping her in detention.

The occurrence of this spectacle in Philippine politics and government says a lot about the primacy of the president in our political system, and the character of political rivalries in the country.

De Lima's latest acquittal

The Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 204 acquitted de Lima in one of her two remaining drug cases on May 12.

The former senator's court victory is her second acquittal after another Muntinlupa court cleared her in one of the charges in February 2021. This means de Lima is now facing only one charge — the one pending before Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 256.

De Lima remains in detention because her petition for bail in this pending case has yet to be resolved by the court.

In the latest acquittal, Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara cleared de Lima of the charge in relation to alleged violation of Section 5 of Republic Act 9165, or the "Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002." Ronnie Dayan, de Lima's former aide, was also cleared in the same case.

In its decision, the court noted that the sole issue in the case was whether de Lima was criminally and civilly liable in the charge against her. Judge Alcantara said de Lima was acquitted on grounds of reasonable doubt.

By definition, proof beyond reasonable doubt is a requirement that must be met to find an accused guilty of a crime. In de Lima's case, this meant the prosecution failed to provide evidence that would successfully pin her down on the drug charge.

The former lawmaker was accused of allegedly receiving money from the illegal drug trade in Bilibid amounting to P5 million on Nov. 24, 2012, and then another P5 million on December 15 of the same year.

To establish the allegations, the prosecutors presented two witnesses: former Bureau of Corrections acting chief Rafael Ragos and intelligence agent Jovencio Ablen. Both testified that they delivered money to both de Lima and Dayan.

According to the court, the prosecution "successfully established" the fact that rampant illegal drug trade exists in the New Bilibid Prison.

The prosecutors were able to prove the "complex network of transactions" of illegal drug trade in the national penitentiary run by high-profile persons deprived of liberty (PDL). It said the prosecution was also able to provide witnesses who testified on how these high-profile PDLs brokered drug transactions inside Bilibid.

De Lima and Dayan were both accused as "conspirators" in this illegal drug trade inside the penitentiary. This means the prosecution "must further establish conspiracy with the direct participants in the illegal drug trade," the court said.

Witness' recantation

But, the court noted, only Ragos had personal knowledge of the supposed source of the money allegedly delivered to the accused.

"According to Ragos' original testimony, the money was placed in his quarter's bedroom. Thereafter, he received a phone call from Hans Tan, a high-profile inmate involved in drugs, who told him to deliver the money to accused Dayan and de Lima," the court said.

On April 30, 2022, Ragos retracted his accusations against De Lima. In a sworn affidavit, he said that "there is no truth whatsoever" to his claims regarding the delivery of money to de Lima and Dayan.

The court said Ragos' recantation of his testimony cast reasonable doubt on his testimony's credibility.

In its ruling, the court said recantations "are viewed with suspicion and reservation." It said retracted testimonies are unreliable because of the probability that they would be repudiated later. However, retractions can be considered and upheld when special circumstances and the retraction raise doubts on the testimony given.

The court added that another rare exception in accepting recantations is when there is no evidence that can sustain the judgment of conviction, aside from the testimony of a witness or witnesses.

"Under the circumstances of this case, the testimony of witness Ragos is necessary to sustain any possible conviction. Without his testimony, the crucial link to establish conspiracy is shrouded with reasonable doubt," the court explained.

With this, the court said the retraction created reasonable doubt that warranted de Lima's acquittal. Specifically, Ragos' recantation created reasonable doubt about de Lima's participation as an alleged conspirator in the drug trade.

 

https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/05/16/opinion/columns/the-acquittal-of-leila-dilemma/1891683

 

 

[samatm]

She probably needs to be in Jail as most politicians  in this country are crooked...BUT  I have always thought that the charges against her were politically trumped up and concocted.