CA junks contempt raps vs De Lima in Ortega case

The Court of Appeals (CA) has junked contempt charges against Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for alleging that “foul tactics and illicit means” were employed in the dismissal of the case against fugitive former Palawan governor Joel Reyes for the 2011 killing of broadcaster Gerry Ortega.

In a six-page resolution promulgated last June 13 but released only yesterday, the CA’s 15th Division dismissed the petition of Reyes’ camp to cite De Lima in indirect contempt both for lack of merit and on technical grounds.

“The court resolves to have the case dismissed outright,” read the ruling penned by Associate Justice Franchito Diamante, with which Associ- ate Justices Celia Librea-Leagogo and Melchor Sadang concurred.

The CA said Reyes’ petition should be dismissed for being defective because Reyes, who remains in hiding from authorities, did not sign the certificate of non-forum shopping attached to his petition.

In his petition, Reyes, through his legal counsel, accused De Lima of “scandalizing” the CA when she told the media about the supposed illicit tactics.

De Lima, who was represented by the Office of the Solicitor General in the case, said she was merely exercising her right to free expression in airing her frustration after the CA cleared Reyes of murder charges in the Ortega killing due to supposed procedural lapses on the part of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in investigating the case.

The decision clearing Reyes came some four months after another CA division junked similar charges against his co-accused and brother, Mayor Mario Reyes of Coron, Palawan.

The CA’s Special 10th Division, voting 3-2 last March, held that the DOJ erred in creating another panel to reinvestigate the murder case based on new evidence through Department Order No. 710.