Muntinlupa court dismisses De Lima, Dayan bid to junk drug raps

MANILA – A Muntinlupa court on Wednesday dismissed the demurrer to evidence filed by counsels of detained Senator Leila de Lima and her former aide Ronnie Dayan seeking to dismiss the drug charges against them.

In an omnibus order, Muntinlupa RTC Branch 205 Judge Liezel Aquiatan also denied the grant of bail for de Lima and Dayan in Criminal Case No. 17-165.

“The separate demurrers to evidence of accused Leila de Lima and Ronnie Dayan are both denied. The petition for bail filed by accused de Lima and Dayan are likewise denied,” Aquiatan said.

A demurrer challenges the legal sufficiency of a charge based on the evidence so far presented and seeks the outright dismissal of the complaint.

Meanwhile, Aquiatan has set the initial reception of evidence of the defense on March 5.

The case filed by prosecutors alleged that from November 2012 to December 2012, de Lima, who was then secretary of justice conspired with then DOJ employee Dayan to use mobile phones in drug trading and receiving money to fund her senatorial campaign.

The head of the prosecution panel, Ramoncito Ocampo, said they have completed its preliminary interviews to prepare witnesses against de Lima whose detention had earlier been transferred to the Philippine Marines detention barracks at the Fort Bonifacio, in Taguig City.

“We have completed our preparation of our witnesses here,” Ocampo said after the trip to the Marines barracks.

In June 2019, 10 high-profile inmates were transferred to the Marines facility following a controversy over the early release of 2,000 convicts under the then newly enacted Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

Reports said among those transferred at the time were inmates Hans Anton Tan, Peter Co alias Wu Tuan Yuan, Jojo Baligad, Vicente Sy, Froilan Trestiza, Nonilo Arile, Chua Che Ket, Rico Caja, Joel Capones and Allan Senogat.

Meanwhile, the court granted de Lima’s bid to junk the separate charge against her which involved a co-accused Jose Adrian “Jad” Dera.

Aquiatan said in Criminal Case No. 17-166, the prosecution failed to substantiate its theory that de Lima had conspired with Dera in allegedly receiving money and vehicles from Peter Co to fund her senatorial campaign while the drug lord was then incarcerated at the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

Dera, the prosecutors said, collected at least PHP3 million from Co for de Lima through his niece, Sally Serrano.

The court, however, junked Dera’s demurrer but allowed him to post a bail of PHP500,000.