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[av_heading heading=’De Lima seeks reversal of SC ruling on arrest’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”][/av_heading]
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Sunday, November 5, 2017
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MANILA – Sen. Leila de Lima urged the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision dismissing her petition to nullify her arrest for illegal drug charges.
Majority of the justices cannot agree on the nature and cause of the accusation against her, de Lima said in a 24-page motion for consideration.
“The absence of a majority on the nature of the charges against the petitioner is the clearest possible indicator – coming from the Supreme Court itself – that the accusation is blatantly a pure invention and a fake charge, to borrow from Justice (Antonio) Carpio,” read part of the motion filed Nov. 3.
“If the members of the majority could not even agree on the nature of the accusation reflected in the information, such fact is an objective indicator that respondent judge could not possibly have had probable cause to issue the warrant of arrest against the petitioner,” the motion further read.
On Oct. 10 the high tribunal, voting 9-6, ruled against de Lima’s petition to nullify the arrest warrant that a Muntinlupa City regional trial court issued against her for drug-related offenses she allegedly committed when she was Justice secretary.
Five of the nine justices who voted to dismiss her petition maintained that her charges were for “illegal drug trading” while three others asserted that they were for “conspiracy to commit drug trading,” de Lima said.
“If at least three members of the nine justices constituting the majority that voted against the petitioner believe the charges are for conspiracy to commit drug trading, then it only follows that they must have concluded that respondent judge issued a warrant of arrest for an entirely different and wrong case,” the motion read.
“To keep the petitioner in continued pretrial detention is patent abuse of judicial authority,” said the senator.
According to de Lima, the Supreme Court must “rectify the injustice committed against her.”
It should not allow itself to become an “instrument of injustice” by allowing a proceeding that is “undeniably political persecution and abuse of government power,” she said. (PNA)
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