Former Senator Leila De Lima said on Thursday that she would appeal before the Supreme Court the ruling by a Court of Appeals division to nullify a Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court decision acquitting her and her former aide Ronnie Dayan from drug charges.
“Nonetheless, we will appeal the CA’s decision up to the Supreme Court, if necessary. In the meantime, this does not mean that my acquittal has lost its legal effect. My acquittal is final and unappealable due to the principle of double jeopardy, whereas the CA’s decision is still appealable up to the Supreme Court,” she said in a statement. “For now, the RTC’s decision acquitting me still holds greater weight.”
In a 12-page decision, the Eighth Division of the CA granted the petition for certiorari filed by the Office of the Solicitor General and remanded the case to Branch 204 of the Muntinlupa RTC.
The CA division said that Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 Presiding Judge Abraham Alcantara “failed to discuss the specific proven facts as well as the laws upon which his pronouncement of acquittal was based.”
The CA also said that it was impossible to discern the rationale behind his decision to acquit De Lima and Dayan after the Muntinlupa RTC branch failed to enumerate or discuss the statements that were allegedly withdrawn by former Bureau of Corrections chief Rafael Ragos.
De Lima said that CA’s latest decision is “puzzling”, noting that the appellate court seemed to be “asking the RTC to rewrite its decision, allegedly because it was not sufficiently clear.”
“We believe that all the answers to the CA’s questions in their decision can be found in the case records. Perhaps we just need to point out again, through our Motion for Reconsideration, the specific portions of the records where the answers to their questions can be found,” she said.
“I also wish to clarify that the CA did not say that my acquittal was reversed; rather, it only asked for the RTC decision to be clarified or revised — something we believe is unnecessary because the RTC’s ruling is already clear,” De Lima added.
Ragos had claimed that he and aide Jovencio Ablen Jr. delivered P5 million in proceeds from the illegal drug trade inside the NBP to De Lima’s house in Parañaque City in 2012. But he retracted his statement in 2022.
The Muntinlupa court said Ragos’ retraction “created reasonable doubt which warrants the acquittal of both accused.”
De Lima is expected to make a congressional comeback as first nominee of ML Party-list, which secured a seat in the House of Representatives in the 20th Congress.
Despite the decision by the CA division, De Lima said that it will not affect her return to public office.
“Nevertheless, this will not be a hindrance to my return to public service, and I will continue my preparations to advance Justice and Reform in Congress,” she said. –NB, GMA Integrated News
