By ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA – A Muntinlupa City court has rejected the prosecutors’ appeal regarding the dismissal of the last illegal drug trade case filed against former senator Leila de Lima.
The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 dismissed the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration on the court’s decision to grant de Lima’s demurrer to evidence.
A demurrer to evidence is filed by the defense when they are confident that the prosecution’s presentation of evidence was weak enough that they don’t have to present their own.
“The prosecution… did not even ascribe grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Court. It did not even cite any instance in the Court’s order that in having such kind of conclusion, the Court encroached into the area of grave abuse of discretion,” the RTC said.
“Having failed to cite any instance of grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Court, which is the only thoroughfare to vacating a judgment of acquittal, there is therefore no reason for this Court to reconsider its order,” it added.
The Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 206 granted de Lima’s demurrer to evidence in June, clearing the former senator and former Justice secretary of all her drug charges.
Based on the granting of the demurrer to evidence, the prosecution failed to prove the guilt of all accused beyond reasonable doubt.
The former senator was freed on bail by the same Muntinlupa City RTC branch in November 2023 after being detained in Camp Crame since February 2017 over drug allegations.
De Lima’s first acquittal came in February 2021 when the Muntinlupa City RTC-Branch 205 junked one of her three cases.
In May 2023, the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 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 was arrested in 2017 for drug allegations, has consistently maintained her innocence and repeatedly denied the accusations against her./PN
