The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked a Muntinlupa City regional trial court to reopen the trial for one of the two remaining drug cases filed against former senator Leila de Lima, which has been submitted for decision in May.
In a motion for reconsideration filed with Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 204, DOJ prosecutors pleaded with the court to reopen the trial for Criminal Case 17-165 to allow them to present its rebuttal evidence, to buttress its accusation that De Lima and her bodyguard Ronnie Dayan had conspired to commit illegal drug trading during her stint as DOJ secretary.
The case accused De Lima of receiving P10 million in 2012, which supposedly came from the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa.
However, the key government witness in the case, former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos, recanted all his allegations against De Lima and Dayan.
Ragos said he was coerced into making false testimonies against De Lima and Dayan in the case.
In his original affidavits and testimonies, Ragos claimed that he delivered P10 million to De Lima’s house in Paranaque: P5 million in November 2012, and P5 million in December 2012.
But in an affidavit he executed on April 30, 2022, Ragos recanted all his statements and exonerated De Lima and Dayan. He also appeared in the Muntinlupa court to affirm his recantation, saying that the two accused were innocent of the charges.
During the April 17 hearing for the case, the Muntinlupa City RTC decided that the case had been submitted for resolution and the decision will be issued on May 12.
In seeking for the reopening of the trial, the DOJ prosecutors said:
“On 17 April 2023, the Honorable Court, after admitting all the exhibits formally offered by accused Dayan, granted accused De Lima’s manifestation that she is adopting the same exhibits and its purposes raised by accused Dayan in his Formal Offer of Evidence and formally
expressed to rest her case.”
Prosecutors said they will present lawyer Demiteer Huerta of the Public Attorney’s Office as a new witness in the case.
“The function of the rebuttal evidence is to explain, repel, counteract, or disprove the evidence of the adversary. Its office is ‘to meet the new facts put in by the opponent in his case in reply’ and is ‘necessary only because, on a plea in denial, new subordinate evidential facts have been offered, or because, on an affirmative plea, its substantive facts have been put forward, or because, on any issue whatever, facts discrediting the proponent’s witnesses have been offered,” the motion stated.
“While the presentation of rebuttal evidence is discretionary with the prosecution in a criminal action, in the instant case, the overwhelming import of the new facts disclosed by the accused which have a damaging effect on the complainant’s version is imperative and necessary for the prosecution to present rebuttal evidence,” the DOJ motion said.
“On account of this, the Prosecution moves for the reconsideration of the order given in open court today, and for the re-opening of the trial to allow the presentation of prosecution’s rebuttal evidence and to formally offer the same before the case be submitted for resolution,” prosecutors said.
The DOJ prosecutors said it will present their rebuttal evidence for only one day before the promulgation of the decision on the case on May 12.
“The Prosecution does not intend to delay the proceedings in this case but solely for reasons stated above,” they stressed.