HOPEFUL Detained former Sen. Leila de Lima, shown in this photo last month leaving the regional trial court in Muntinlupa City, remains hopeful that she will get justice soon. 鈥擱ICHARD A. REYES
A Muntinlupa court has deferred anew its ruling on former Sen. Leila de Lima鈥檚 bail plea on her remaining drug charge.
Meanwhile, state prosecutors said they were due to present 20 more witnesses鈥攂ut De Lima鈥檚 top lawyer said most of them had already testified against her in previous hearings.
Presiding Judge Romeo Buenaventura of Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 256 gave no specific date on when the bail plea would be resolved, but said it would be 鈥渧ery, very soon.鈥�
De Lima鈥檚 lead counsel, Boni Tacardon, said: 鈥淲e understand the court because the records are voluminous. We have more than 30 records plus transcripts and stenographic [records] of almost 20 witnesses.鈥�
He said the court might rule on his client鈥檚 bail petition in the next hearing scheduled on June 19.
Junked drug cases
Buenaventura had earlier postponed last month鈥檚 hearing on the bail petition after he noted 鈥渋nconsistencies鈥� in the markings of the prosecution鈥檚 evidence.
State prosecutors admitted to the mistakes, while Tacardon acknowledged that these were made in good faith.
But he noted that most of their witnesses were already examined in two junked drug cases.
De Lima, a staunch critic of the drug war and human rights record of former President Rodrigo Duterte, had been charged during his administration with three counts of conspiracy to commit drug trading. The first was dismissed in February last year by Branch 205 of the Muntinlupa court.
Branch 204 acquitted her last month of the second charge, citing the recantation of former Bureau of Corrections chief Rafael Ragos, who had earlier testified that he delivered drug money to De Lima
As she left the courtroom on May 12, a visibly relieved De Lima remarked to reporters that 鈥淭his is the beginning of my vindication.鈥�
鈥楻别濒颈迟颈驳补迟颈辞苍鈥�
Tacardon said allowing the witnesses to return to the witness stand would 鈥渞esult in a relitigation which violates the rule on double jeopardy.鈥�
He said among those witnesses were operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Anti-Money Laundering Council who were already 鈥渆xhaustively鈥� examined by both the prosecution and defense in the other two drug cases.
Tacardon said he did not expect them to add anything new and the defense would have to adopt the same cross-examination.
As a compromise, he said, De Lima鈥檚 legal team had requested the prosecution to submit its list of witnesses with a summary of their testimonies, so those who might be reconsidered could be identified.
He said the defense had since moved to cross out 17 of them.
After the prosecution rests its case, Tacardon said De Lima鈥檚 lawyers would file a demurrer to evidence, or a plea to dismiss the charges on the ground of insufficiency of evidence鈥攁s they did in her first drug case, which led to its dismissal.
Before she was returned to her detention quarters in Camp Crame after Monday鈥檚 hearing, De Lima told her supporters gathered outside the court that 鈥渏ustice is coming soon.鈥� INQ
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