De Lima: ‘The accusation is blatantly a pure invention’

Senator Leila de Lima at the Senate in Pasay City. (Photo: Jess Escaros Jr./PNA)

The detained Senator Leila De Lima on Friday urged the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its decision dismissing her petition to nullify the warrant of arrest issued against her by Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Juanita Guerrero in connection to her illegal drug charges.

In her 24-page Motion for Reconsideration, De Lima said that even the Supreme Court could not agree on the “nature of the accusation reflected in the information.” She insisted that the accusation thrown against her “is blatantly a pure invention”.

“The absence of a majority on the nature of the charges against Petitioner is the clearest possible indicator—coming from the Supreme Court itself—that the accusation ‘is blatantly a pure invention’ and ‘a fake charge,’ to borrow from Justice (Antonio) Carpio. This is an institutional admission of the gravest consequence,” De Lima said in her motion.

“If the members of the majority could not even agree on the nature of the accusation reflected in the Information, such fact is an objective indicator that respondent judge could not possibly have had probable cause to issue the warrant of arrest against petitioner,” she added.

Last October 10, in a 9-6 decision, the Supreme Court en banc junked the Senator’s petition.

She cited that there was a lack of jurisdiction in issuing the warrant of arrest against her saying that RTC Judge Juanita Guerrero does not have jurisdiction over her case.

De Lima’s Legal counsel and former solicitor general Florin Hilbay said on Friday in a media briefing that even 9 members of the high court who voted against the Senator do not agree on nature of the charges against her.

He said that the decision is no longer under the rule of law, but “this is the rule of madmen; this is a circus only madmen will enjoy.”

“If at least three members of the nine justices constituting the majority that voted against petitioner believe that the charges are for conspiracy to commit drug trading, then it only follows that they must have concluded that respondent judge issued a warrant of arrest for an entirely different, and wrong, case. To keep petitioner in continued pre-trial detention is patent abuse of judicial authority,” De Lima said.