MUNTINLUPA regional trial court Branch 256 Presiding Judge Romeo Buenaventura yesterday denied the application for bail of detained former senator Leila de Lima in her remaining drug case on the ground that there is strong evidence to prove the crime of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading that the government has filed against her.
The decision means that De Lima would continue to be detained at the PNP Custodial Center despite her acquittals in two other drug cases.
Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 Presiding Judge Joseph Abraham Alcantara last May 12 acquitted De Lima in her second drug case, while Branch 205 granted her demurrer to evidence to the first drug case, effectively junking the complaint on February 2021.
In his 35-page ruling, Buenaventura said that after a careful review of the totality of the prosecution’s evidence, including the testimonies of several high-profile inmates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), he is convinced that the evidence of guilt against De Lima and her co-accused for the crime of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading is strong.
‘At the outset, it must be pointed out that based on the evidence taken as a whole, the prosecution portrayed the entire picture of the conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading among the accused in this case,” Buenaventura said.
He added that there was sufficient proof to sustain the allegations that the accused “conspired to sell and dispose the smuggled drugs, with the purpose of using the proceeds thereof in raising De Lima’s campaign funds for the 2016 senatorial elections.”
Aside from De Lima, also charged before Branch 256 are former Bureau of Corrections chief Franklin Jesus Bucayu, Wilfredo Elli who is Bucayu’s former staff, inmate Jaybee Sebastian, Ronnie Dayan, Joenel Sanchez who is De Lima’s former security aide, and a certain Jad de Vera.
State prosecutors have accused De Lima and Bucayu of tolerating the illegal drugs trade inside the national penitentiary from May 2013 to May 2015 when she was still serving as secretary of the Department of Justice.
De Lima has denied the charges, insisting she was a victim of political vendetta of then president Duterte who resented her opposition to his bloody anti-drug crackdown and human rights violations.
But Buenaventura noted there was an expressed agreement to commit illegal drug trading between Dayan and some of the NBP inmates.
He added that De Lima had an implied agreement with the other accused.
“The testimonies of the witnesses, when taken together and taking into account the context and situation when the conversations and transactions referred to had taken place, point to no other conclusion that there was conspiracy among said accused,” Buenaventura said.
A bail petition in non-bailable offenses such as conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading is granted only if the accused can show to the court that the evidence of guilt is not strong.
Buenaventura also did not find De Lima’s recent hostage-taking experience “injurious to health” or a danger to her life, as in other bail cases, but an isolated incident, falling within the responsibility of the PNP Custodial Center.
“If need be, the present jail facility should reevaluate its security protocols and visitation guidelines to ensure the welfare and safety of its detainees,” he said.
Likewise, the judge said the former lawmaker is not suffering from any serious or life-threatening health condition.
But Buenaventura stressed that in finding the evidence of guilt strong, he is not in any way prejudging what the final outcome of the case will be.
“The culpability or innocence of accused will still be decided on the basis of all evidence presented by the parties and only after trial on the merits,” Buenaventura said, adding that the “purpose of the hearing is merely to determine the weight of evidence for purposes of bail.”
“After all, that the evidence of guilt is strong does not equate to a finding of proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt,” he added.
