Court affirms De Lima acquittal

MANILA, Philippines — In yet another vindication for incoming ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, a Muntinlupa court reaffirmed its earlier decision acquitting her and her former aide, Ronnie Dayan, of conspiracy related to illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

In the new decision promulgated on Friday, Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara pointed out that the original ruling was “clear and unequivocal” in its explanation that the recantation of former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Rafael Ragos already created reasonable doubt.

The judge wrote that both the original and revised decisions “do not deviate nor change the elementary basis for the acquittal.”

“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,” Alcantara explained.

The Court of Appeals (CA) 8th Division remanded the case back to Alcantara in late April for grave abuse of discretion in clearing De Lima and Dayan on May 12, 2023 by relying solely on Ragos’ recantation.

The appellate court agreed with the Office of the Solicitor General, which filed the petition for certiorari, that Alcantara failed to specify which statements from Ragos’ recantation would lead to the acquittals of De Lima and Dayan.

In a statement on Friday, De Lima hoped that the decision marks the end of what she calls the “most expensive frame-up in Philippine history.”

“Vindicated numerous times, and yet they are relentless in trying to silence me,” she said.

“But no matter how hard they try, they cannot erase the truth nor undo what has already been revealed in the light of justice,” De Lima added.

The incoming lawmaker also thanked Alcantara “for his steadfast adherence to justice by upholding his earlier ruling of acquittal.”

This case is one of three drug charges leveled by the Duterte administration against De Lima, seen by critics as a move to silence her for leading Senate investigations into the regime’s deadly war on drugs.

A sitting senator at the time, De Lima was arrested and spent the next 2,454 days inside the Philippine National Police Custodial Center inside Camp Crame in Quezon City.

De Lima tasted freedom in November 2023 after another Muntinlupa court granted her petition to post bail for her third drug case.

Having been cleared of all her drug charges in June 2024, De Lima reentered the political arena as the first nominee of the newly formed ML party-list.

The former Justice secretary is set to become a representative tomorrow at noon after ML ranked 15th in the party-list race in the May 12 elections.

Meanwhile, labor group NAGKAISA hailed the new court ruling as a landmark moment in Philippine legal history.

“I have been a lawyer for 27 years and this case of former senator turned Rep. Leila de Lima (was the only one that) was like deliver one and take one more – no mistrial, but somehow the judge had to render the judgment of acquittal twice,” NAGKAISA chair Sonny Matula said in a statement.

“Rep. De Lima should have never been jailed in the first place. Her case reminds us that truth can be delayed – but not denied forever,” noted Judy Miranda, NAGKAISA women committee chairperson.

Reasonable doubt

Alcantara affirmed De Lima and Dayan’s acquittal on the basis of reasonable doubt, ruling that the prosecution “failed to overcome the damaging effect of witness Ragos’ recantations.”

Ragos had previously testified that he and former National Bureau of Investigation bomb technician Jun Ablen personally delivered a total of P10 million on Nov. 24, 2012 and Dec. 15, 2012 to De Lima’s residence. The money was supposedly proceeds from illegal drug trading by convicts at the NBP.

Ragos, whom the court acknowledged to have the only direct knowledge of the money’s source, alleged in his original testimony that Hans Tan, a high-profile inmate involved in narcotics at NBP, directed him to hand over the proceeds to De Lima and Dayan.

The prosecution’s case, however, faltered after Ragos recanted his entire testimony on April 30, 2022, saying that he had made the allegations out of fear following threats from then-justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, NBI officials and lawyers from the Public Attorney’s Office.

“I now hereby declare and make known to the whole world that there is no truth whatsoever to any of these affidavits or House and court testimonies, or any other statement made in the media or other investigatory proceedings, including the Senate and the DOJ, on the delivery of monies to Sec. De Lima or Ronnie Dayan in whatever amount,” the former BuCor chief said at the time.

Ragos took the witness stand on Oct. 28, 2022, accusing Aguirre of coercing him into corroborating allegations against De Lima.

In several media interviews, Aguirre denied any coercion of witnesses. — Rhodina Villanueva, Jose Rodel Clapano