MANILA, Philippines – Detained former senator Leila de Lima, in a statement issued Friday afternoon, July 7, expressed disappointment after the prosecution asked the presiding judge to stop handling her remaining drug charge.

The prosecutors’ filed motion, made public on Thursday, caused the judge to inhibit from De Lima’s case.

“If they are truly agents of justice, the Panel of Prosecutors should have proceeded to entrust the appreciation of their evidence through the crucible of a judge whose independence, impartiality, and courage to do the right thing have already been proven in the past, ie, in my second case,” the former senator said.

Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 204 Presiding Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara was the last judge to handle De Lima’s only remaining drug charge. Alcantara was the same judge who handed down De Lima’s second acquittal in her three drug cases. The prosecution cited this as basis for inhibition, saying the judge had already handled De Lima’s other drug case.

Following Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 256 Presiding Judge Romeo Buenaventura’s inhibition in June, Judge Alcantara ended up with the De Lima case after it was re-raffled to him. Buenavantura inhibited from the case after De Lima’s co-accused filed a motion against him, citing conflict of interest.

All in all, in less than a month, two judges have inhibited in the De Lima case.

De Lima, in her statement, said Judge Alcantara’s acquittal judgment was based on evidence. What the prosecution cited in their motion was “nothing even remotely close” to what her co-accused cited in the motion for inhibition against Judge Buenaventura.

The former senator said, “Judge Alcantara does not suffer from any similar cause for inhibition such as a close blood relationship to a lawyer who played a part in my persecution, a clear case of conflict of interest.”

The former senator, who is also a lawyer, said inhibition is resorted to, to assure a fair trial for the accused. De Lima said the Constitution always presumes it is the government “which is capable of abuse” that is why the accused is provided a bill of rights.

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De Lima, despite her two acquittals, remains detained because of her pending charge, where her petition for bail was denied. The former senator’s camp will file a motion for reconsideration to ask the new judge to reconsider her bail denial.

If the motion is granted and the new judge favors her bail petition, De Lima could be temporarily freed after over six years in detention. If the motion for reconsideration is denied, she will remain detained as the case proceedings continue.

Recently, United Nations experts and European Union lawmakers reiterated their call for De Lima’s release. – Rappler.com