Congresswoman-elect and former senator Leila de Lima vowed to appeal the Court of Appeals (CA) decision voiding a Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court ruling that acquitted her in a drug case in 2023, expressing puzzlement over the CA’s move.
“Nabasa na namin ang decision ng Court of Appeals na ibalik sa Regional Trial Court ang isa sa mga kaso kung saan na-acquit na ako. Kataka-taka itong desisyon na ito na mistulang pinapaulit ng CA ang pagkasulat ng desisyon ng RTC dahil daw hindi ito masyadong malinaw,” De Lima said in a statement.
The CA nullified the May 12, 2024 decision of Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara of Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204, which acquitted De Lima and her co-accused Ronnie Dayan, and the July 6, 2023 ruling, which denied the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration, in case number 17-165.
De Lima and Dayan were initially charged with conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading, one of the three cases filed in 2017 during the Duterte administration. All three cases were dismissed, including the one voided by the CA.
In its ruling, the CA said Judge Alcantara “failed to discuss the specific proven facts as well as the laws upon which his pronouncement of acquittal was based.”
The CA said Alcantara had relied on the testimony of Rafael Ragos—former National Bureau of Investigation deputy director and former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge—who later retracted his statements against De Lima and Dayan.
The CA also said that the judge failed to “state the particular statements which witness Ragos specifically retracted” and “state in particular the effects of the retracted statements to the facts proven by the prosecution.”
With this decision, the CA remanded the case back to the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 “for it to decide the case in accordance with the rules stated in this Decision.”
“Naniniwala rin kami na lahat ng sagot sa mga tanong ng CA sa decision nila ay maaring makita sa records ng kaso. Baka kailangan lang namin iturong muli sa kanila sa aming Motion for Reconsideration ang mga specific na portions ng records kung saan makikita ang mga sagot sa kanilang mga katanungan,” said De Lima.
She added, “Gayunpaman, iaapela namin ang decision ng CA hanggang Supreme Court kung kinakailangan. Samantala, hindi pa ito nangangahulugan na wala nang bisa ang aking acquittal. Final and unappealable ang aking acquittal dahil sa prinsipyo ng double jeopardy, habang appealable pa naman hanggang Supreme Court ang desisyon ng CA. Sa ngayon, mas matimbang pa rin ang pagpapawalang-sala sa akin ng RTC.”
De Lima said the CA did not reverse her acquittal but only ordered a clarification in the decision.
“Nais ko ring linawin na hindi sinabi ng CA na reversed ang aking acquittal kundi pinapaayos lamang nito ang laman ng desisyon, na sa aming palagay, hindi na kinakailangan dahil maliwanag ang desisyon ng RTC. Tingin namin: issue lang ito ng pagpapalinaw at pagpapaliwanag sa CA sa mga tanong na kanilang pinunto sa kanilang decision,” she said.
De Lima reaffirmed her dedication to public service despite the ongoing legal battle.
“Gayunpaman, hindi ito magiging hadlang sa pagbabalik ko sa serbisyo-publiko at ipagpapatuloy ko ang aking preparasyon sa pagsulong ng Hustisya at Reporma sa Kongreso.”
She won a seat in the House of Representatives as the first nominee of Mamamayang Liberal (ML) party-list. (Jonathan Hicap)
