Remulla sees pressure on judge to inhibit

De Lima drug case:

MANILA, Philippines — The judge handling the remaining drug case against Leila de Lima may have “felt some pressure” to inhibit himself from the case after he previously denied the former senator’s petition for bail, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Friday.

Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 256 Judge Romeo Buenaventura granted the motions for inhibition filed by De Lima’s former aides Ronnie Dayan and Joenel Sanchez and former Bureau of Corrections director Franklin Jesus Bucayu.

In a press briefing, Remulla said inhibiting from a case is a “personal thing” for judges but there is “always pressure involved.”

“I am sure he felt some pressure after the denial of the bail. That’s something you can conclude from the circumstances. It’s unfortunate because the person who hears the case should probably be the one to decide the case but if they’re leaving at this stage then we have to accept that,” he said.

Remulla said the Department of Justice accords the judge “the respect they deserve,” saying it does not direct the prosecution of the case for institutional continuity.

De Lima’s co-accused had asked Buenaventura to stop handling the case after learning the judge is the brother of lawyer Emmanuel Buenaventura, the former counsel of the late congressman Reynaldo Umali.

Umali was the chairman of the House of Representatives’ justice committee when it was conducting hearings into the alleged illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison that supposedly involved De Lima.

In his seven-page decision dated June 15, Buenaventura said that the suspicion, while unfounded, cannot be ignored since it already “tarnished the integrity and impartiality” of the court and the “needed trust and confidence” in all proceedings in the case.

Because of the judge’s inhibition, the records of the case will be transmitted to the executive judge for re-raffle to other branches of the court for the continuation of the proceedings.

Buenaventura denied last week the application for bail by De Lima, Sanchez, Dayan, Bucayu and the former senator’s alleged bagman, Jose Adrian Dera, as he ruled that the evidence of their guilt is strong.

Remulla said that if De Lima and others sought bail based on habeas corpus, any judge would have granted it, considering that the former senator has been in jail since 2017.

Through habeas corpus, an individual can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request it determine whether the detention was lawful.

‘Right thing to do’

De Lima’s legal team welcomed Buenaventura’s decision.

“We welcome Judge Romeo Buenaventura’s voluntary inhibition from hearing the case. It was the right thing to do,” De Lima’s lawyers said in a statement.

They said Buenaventura has no other recourse but to recuse himself from the case after he failed to come clean right from the beginning and disclose that his brother was Umali’s legal adviser.

“For this reason, he should really inhibit himself to prevent a clear case of mistrial,” De Lima’s lawyer said.

De Lima’s lead counsel, Filibon Tacardon, said while the judge’s inhibition will cause a delay, their client is steadfast in her resolve that her vindication is near.

“She continues to believe that truth and justice will prevail and that her vindication from these trumped-up charges will come very, very soon,” Tacardon said. — Emmanuel Tupas