SENATOR Leila de Lima on Friday asked a lower court to dismiss what she described as trumped-up drug charges filed against her by the Duterte administration and to recall her third warrant of arrest.
She asked the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 206 to defer her arraignment on Dec. 8 pending the final outcome of her Supreme Court petition that directly affects a similar case in RTC Branch 204.
“It is incumbent upon this Court [RTC Branch 206] to hold in abeyance the scheduled arraignment,” De Lima says in her motion for reconsideration.
“Otherwise, such an act would be tantamount to this Court preempting the Supreme Court and arrogating unto herself the authority to have a final say on the jurisprudential effect of the Supreme Court’s decision.”
RTC Branch 206 Judge Patria Manalastas-De Leon issued on Nov. 16 an arrest warrant against De Lima along with her co-accused”•former Bureau of Corrections Director Franklin Bucayu, National Bilibid Prison inmates Jaybee Sebastian, Wilfredo Elli and De Lima’s former aides Joenel Sanchez and Ronnie Dayan, and one Jose Dera.
The allegations against De Lima”•which made use of perjured testimonies from convicted felons during a Congressional hearing”•focused on her illegal drug trading allegedly committed from 2012 to 2013 when De Lima was Justice secretary.
De Lima, whom many consider as a victim of political persecution under the Duterte regime, said the court should also review what she called “fatal deficiency” or infirmity in the information or charge sheet filed against her.
“The Information, Complaint-Affidavit, and Attached Affidavits, and TSNs, all miserably fail to provide the existence of drugs that were allegedly attempted to be sold or were actually sold by the accused,” De Lima said.
“Hence, the corpus delicti in the instant case is lacking”•a matter that is readily admitted by the DoJ Panel in its Comment.”
De Lima said the Information failed to identify the actual seller of the illegal drugs, the identity of the buyer, the kind and quantity of the illegal drugs sold or traded, the consideration and the delivery of the illegal drugs, and the actual payment.
“Without these elements alleged in the Information, the actual sale or trade of dangerous drugs can never be established,” De Lima said.
“It is impossible for the Honorable Court to determine the existence of probable cause for the issuance of a warrant of arrest since the Information is deficient of any of the essential elements charged.”
De Lima said that in the two other cases pending with RTC Branches 204 and 205, the DoJ filed separate motions to admit amended Informations that sought to change the offense charged against her from one of drug trading to mere conspiracy to trade drugs.
She said this meant a shift in the theory and narrative of the prosecution from an original charge that she allegedly traded drugs to an accusation that she merely allegedly decided and agreed to trade drugs.