Muntinlupa Court Denies De Lima’s Plea in Drug Case; Acquits Her in Another
A significant development has taken place in the drug case involving Senator Leila de Lima, as a Muntinlupa City court denied her plea for the dismissal of the charges related to her former driver and bodyguard, Ronnie Dayan. However, in a separate drug case involving Jose Adrian Dera, the judge granted De Lima’s motion for the dismissal of evidence, effectively acquitting her of the charges.
Judge Liezel Aquiatan of the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 205 refused to grant De Lima’s demurrer to evidence and her petition for bail in relation to the case with Dayan. On the other hand, the judge granted De Lima’s demurrer to evidence in the drug case involving Dera, although Dera was allowed to post bail worth P500,000.
A demurrer to evidence is a legal pleading that seeks the dismissal of a case due to insufficient prosecution evidence, without the defense presenting its own. If granted, it results in an acquittal, while denial means the trial will proceed.
Apart from these two drug cases, De Lima also faces another pending drug case before the Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 256.
De Lima expressed her satisfaction with the court’s decision regarding the case with Dera, emphasizing that being acquitted even in one case during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte is a victory for her. However, she plans to appeal the denial of her demurrer to evidence in the case involving Dayan.
De Lima strongly denied any involvement in illegal drug activities and claimed that no evidence has proven that any money from drug trafficking was received by her. She insisted that the accusations against her are based on rumors and conjecture.
The Department of Justice alleged that De Lima conspired with Dera in illegal drug trading and received money and vehicles from Peter Co, a high-profile inmate at the New Bilibid Prison, supposedly for her senatorial campaign in 2016.
However, Judge Aquiatan stated that the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence to establish the connection between De Lima and Dera, who was purportedly her nephew. Moreover, there was no evidence to prove that any money received by Dera benefited De Lima. Aquiatan concluded that the prosecution failed to provide strong evidence to support a guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.
Regarding the case involving De Lima and Dayan, the judge ruled that there were sufficient evidence and testimonies indicating the existence of illegal drug trading at the New Bilibid Prison. The prosecution presented witnesses who testified that they delivered money from drug lords to De Lima’s house in 2012, including the testimony of convict Nonilo Arile, who claimed to gather money for De Lima’s senatorial campaign.
Former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos and National Bureau of Investigation intelligence agent Jovencio Ablen Jr. also testified that they saw Dayan at De Lima’s residence during the money deliveries.
Despite the court’s denial of De Lima’s plea to dismiss the case involving Dayan, the senator remains resilient and intends to pursue all available legal avenues.
De Lima has been in detention for nearly four years on allegations of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading with corrections officials and inmates during her tenure as Secretary of the Department of Justice. She vehemently denies the charges, asserting that they are politically motivated.
