Judge inhibits from last De Lima case

MANILA, Philippines — Saying unfounded suspicions have tarnished his integrity and impartiality, a Muntinlupa judge has inhibited from the remaining drug case of detained former senator Leila de Lima.

In a seven-page order dated June 15, Judge Romeo Buenaventura of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 256 granted the motions for inhibition filed by former De Lima aides Ronnie Dayan and Joenel Sanchez and former Bureau of Corrections chief Franklin Bucayu, De Lima’s co-accused in her case.

“Wherefore, premises considered, the instant motions are hereby granted and the undersigned presiding judge voluntarily inhibits himself from further hearing this case,” Buenaventura said.

De Lima’s case will be raffled to another court after Buenaventura recused himself.

The legal teams of Dayan and Sanchez earlier questioned Buenaventura’s impartiality after learning that the judge is a brother of lawyer Emmanuel Buenaventura, supposedly the former counsel of the late congressman Reynaldo Umali, who led an investigation into the reported illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison wherein De Lima was allegedly involved.

Bucayu, for his part, said he has “completely lost any remaining iota of faith or trust” in Buenavenuta with his “one-sided and biased” ruling on De Lima’s petition for bail.

De Lima’s lawyers also filed a motion for voluntary inhibition yesterday, citing several reasons, including the denial of her bail petition and the judge being appointed by her nemesis, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

In response, Buenaventura said the respondents have not shown an iota of proof that he acted with malice, bad faith and partiality in hearing the case.

“The presiding judge maintains that, as dispenser of justice, he has conducted himself with the cold impartiality of an impartial judge,” he said.

Buenaventura said he and his brother never discussed their respective professional and official undertakings, stressing that he has no personal knowledge of the extent of the professional representation or capacity of his sibling as Umali’s legal adviser.

The judge said the proceedings in 2016 before the House committee on justice chaired by Umali have no impact on the drug case in his court.

But Buenaventura said the suspicions of the respondents, “while unfounded if not contrived, cannot be ignored since it already tarnished the integrity and impartiality of the court as well as the trust and confidence in all subsequent proceedings.”

“For this reason, the undersigned presiding judge will exercise his discretion and will recuse himself from further hearing the case not because the allegations are true, but because it is his avowed duty as a member of the bench to promote confidence in the judicial system,” Buenaventura said.