The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday debunked allegation that its prosecutors are delaying the resolution of the last criminal case of former senator Leila M. de Lima with the filing of a motion to inhibit against the judge.
Justice Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano asserted that the prosecutors “believe that a new judge would be best to the case.”
Earlier, Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara granted the motion of DOJ prosecutors and decided to inhibit himself in an order he issued on July 6. As of posting, the case has yet to be raffled to a new judge.
The last of the three cases of De Lima, denominated as Criminal Case No. 17-167, was originally raffled to Judge Romeo Buenaventura of RTC Branch 256.
He denied De Lima’s plea to post bail.
Judge Buenaventura, however, inhibited himself on a motion filed by De Lima’s co-accused.
Subsequently, the case was raffled to Judge Alcantara of Branch 204. It was Judge Alcantara who acquitted De Lima and other respondents in a criminal case denominated as Criminal Case No. 17-165.
In seeking Alcantara’s inhibition, DOJ prosecutor said: “Having adversely decided against the People in the previous Criminal Case No. 17-165, the undersigned Panel of Prosecutors cannot help but be apprehensive that the Honorable Presiding Judge will carry over his perceptions to the instant case.”
“Thus, to erase any doubt as to the impartiality of the Honorable Presiding Judge as well as to remove any impression that he will similarly decide on the instant case in favor of the accused, the prosecution most respectfully moves that the Honorable Presiding Judge voluntarily inhibit himself from hearing the case,” they also said.
Acting on the motion, Judge Alcantara issued an order inhibiting himself from De Lima’s case. Clavano welcomed Alcantara’s decision to recuse himself from the case.
“I think the next few steps will also be very fast. They are very efficient in the courts. They will re-raffle it off to a new judge and we’ll get the case going as soon as possible,” Clavano said.
Nonetheless, Clavano assure that the proceedings in De Lima’s last case would not start from scratch.
“It won’t be done all over again. It would just start from where they jumped off from the last judge. That means the resolution is up and coming,” he stressed.
According to him, both the prosecution and the defense have already finished presenting their respective evidence during the bail hearings.
In Criminal Case No. 17-167, De Lima and her co-accused allegedly received P70 million in illegal drugs earnings reportedly collected by imprisoned narcotics traders of the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.