黑料社

The seventh judge hearing the last drug trafficking case against former Sen. Leila de Lima has recused himself to put to rest any 鈥渟uspicion鈥� of bias arising from his brother鈥檚 earlier involvement in the case, a matter that came to light only recently.

De Lima鈥檚 lawyers welcomed the voluntary inhibition of Judge Romeo Buenaventura of the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 256, even as they acknowledged that the appointment of a new judge might further delay her six-year bid for freedom.

In a seven-page order dated June 15 but released on Friday, Buenaventura granted the motions filed on Tuesday by three of De Lima鈥檚 co-accused鈥攈er former aides Ronnie Dayan and Joenel Sanchez, and former Bureau of Corrections chief Franklin Jesus Bucayu.

In their motions, the three asked the judge to inhibit himself from Criminal Case No. 17-167 because his brother Emmanuel Buenaventura, a lawyer, had taken actions in the past that were favorable to the prosecution, such as giving advice to one of their early accusers.

In his order, the judge confirmed that he was Emmanuel鈥檚 brother but insisted that their relationship did not prove he acted with malice, bad faith, and partiality.

鈥楾arnished integrity鈥�

But the 鈥渟uspicion of the accused-movants, while unfounded if not contrived, cannot be ignored since it already tarnished the integrity and impartiality of the court as well as the needed trust and confidence in all subsequent proceedings in the instant case,鈥� Buenaventura said.

He said he was recusing himself 鈥渘ot because the allegations are true, but because it is his avowed duty as member of the bench to promote confidence in the judicial system.鈥�

In their motions, Dayan, Sanchez, and Bucayu noted that Emmanuel had served as legal adviser to the late Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, former chair of the House justice committee, who had led the 2016 inquiry on the illegal drug trade inside New Bilibid Prison (NBP) that resulted in the filing of charges against De Lima and her coaccused.

According to the motions, Emmanuel admitted in a television interview on Nov. 25, 2016, that he assisted Dayan in executing an affidavit implicating De Lima in the NBP drug trade. But in May last year, Dayan retracted his claims in the affidavit and testified that he had been coerced into signing it.

The three said Buenaventura鈥檚 failure to disclose his relationship with his brother put in question the judge鈥檚 impartiality.

But Buenaventura said in his order that he was 鈥渘ot privy to professional engagements of his brother and to the clients he represents, in the same way that the latter has no business whatsoever in the cases adjudicated by the Presiding Judge.鈥�

He claimed he had been unaware of Dayan鈥檚 recantation of the affidavit, noting that it was executed in another court, Branch 204, whose judge acquitted De Lima in the second of her three drug cases last month.

Rare SC advisory

Last week, Buenaventura denied De Lima鈥檚 petition for bail upon finding the evidence against her and her coaccused to be 鈥渟trong.鈥�

A day later, the Supreme Court issued a rare advisory to note that, 鈥淸A]s per the Order of the trial court, the denial of bail of De Lima is not the final adjudication of the case.鈥�

In a statement, De Lima鈥檚 lawyers said Buenaventura鈥檚 decision was 鈥渢he right thing to do,鈥� but added that they were disappointed the judge 鈥渇ailed to come clean right from the start and disclose his relationship.鈥�

The lawyers plan to appeal the denial of De Lima鈥檚 bail petition once a new judge takes over.

鈥淎dmittedly, the inhibition of Judge Buenaventura and the transfer of this case to another judge will cause a bit of a delay, but our client is steadfast in her resolve that her vindication is near,鈥� De Lima鈥檚 lawyer Filibon Tacardon told reporters.

De Lima, a staunch critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte and his drug war, has been detained at Camp Crame in Quezon City since 2017.

鈥楩elt some pressure鈥�

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Buenaventura鈥檚 inhibition made no difference as to how the prosecution would handle the case.

鈥淚鈥檓 sure he felt some pressure after the denial of the bail. That is something you can conclude from the circumstances,鈥� he told reporters.

Criminal Case No. 17-167, the last drug charge against De Lima, has gone through seven judges over the last six years.

Buenaventura started handling the case in June 2020 when he was appointed to Branch 256, taking over from Judge Grace Chavez-Ty, who served as interim presiding judge in January of that year.

Ty鈥檚 designation came on the heels of De Lima鈥檚 request for a new judge after the replacement judge assigned to her case, Judge Antonietta Medina, inhibited herself, as she was a classmate and 鈥渒umare鈥� of De Lima.

Medina replaced Judge Gener Gito, who was relieved in November 2019. The case was originally raffled to Branch 206 Judge Patria Manalastas-De Leon, who opted for early retirement in February 2018.

Judge Lorna Navarro-Domingo then handled the case but also inhibited herself a month later. In May 2019, Judge Amelia Fabros-Corpuz of Branch 256 also opted to retire early.

鈥擶ITH REPORTS FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH AND JACOB LAZARO

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