Court dismisses De Lima’s bail petition

A MUNTINLUPA court denied on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, a petition for bail filed by former senator Leila de Lima in relation to her third and remaining case over alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade in the National Bilibid Prison (NBP).

De Lima in her petition invoked ground for humanitarian considerations – that she is already a senior citizen with various health conditions.

In a 35-page order, Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 256 Judge Romeo Buenaventura said De Lima, 63, is not suffering from any serious or life threatening health condition, which “negates the need for her to be placed in a special or alternative facility outside of her current confinement.”

Buenaventura also said that the October 2022 hostage taking incident inside the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center, where De Lima is detained, is an “isolated case” and was not “injurious to health.”

Buenaventura also noted that the evidence presented by the prosecution over De Lima’s alleged connivance with her co-accused in criminal case 67 were “strong” and that there is a “great possibility” that the crime of conspiracy to commit illegal drugs happened.

“The Court finds that the prosecution was able to prove prima facie the agreement and decision to commit illegal drug trading among the accused by evidence that NBP inmates were used – the overt act – to sell and trade dangerous drugs by means of mobile phones and other electronic devices, through direct proof, that is, the testimonies of the co-conspirators themselves, which are straightforward, positive, and interlocking in material details,” the order stated.

The court reiterated, however, that it is not “in any way” prejudging the final outcome of the case.