De Lima loses bid to include Ragos, convicts as accused

MANILA, Philippines — Former Sen. Leila de Lima has lost another bid to include former Bureau of Corrections chief Rafael Ragos and convicts who testified against her as among the accused in the drug cases she is facing.

In a six-page resolution promulgated on July 20 but released only recently, Court of Appeals Associate Justice Vicoria Paredes denied De Lima’s appeal for the CA to reconsider its 2021 consolidated decision to junk her petitions to have Ragos and 13 convicts included as her co-accused.

She said De Lima presented “no new arguments” that could overturn the CA’s decision.

De Lima filed the petition before the CA after the Muntinlupa court trying her case refused to reinstate Ragos as her co-accused in the drug case in which she, Ragos and her former aide Ronnie Dayan were accused of extorting money from high-profile inmates believed to have been running the alleged illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison.

Ragos was initially the former senator’s co-accused but was excluded to testify against De Lima. Earlier this year, he retracted his allegations against De Lima, saying he had been coerced.

The consolidated decision also denied her motion to include New Bilibid Prison inmates Herbert Colanggo, Engelberto Durano, Vicente Sy, Jojo Baligad, Peter Co, Noel Martinez, Reynante Diaz, Jamie Patcho, German Agojo, Hans Antonio Tan, Joel Capones, Rodolfo Magleo and Froilan Trestiza in her two other drug cases, respectively.

The inmates were witnesses in the drug charges against De Lima, whom the former senator sought to disqualify.

In her petitions before the CA, De Lima said the Muntinlupa courts committed grave abuse of discretion for denying her motions.

However, the CA said prosecutors had every right to seek the exclusion of Ragos and that the court’s decision to deny her bid to include the 13 inmates in the cases “does not violate her right to equal protection.”

De Lima, who has been detained since 2017, has two pending cases. She has been acquitted in one case.