Lawyer says De Lima acquittal final, prosecution appeal futile

MANILA – The camp of former senator Leila De Lima said on Tuesday, May 30 it will ask the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) to disregard the motion for reconsideration (MR) filed by prosecutors asking for a second look on her acquittal.

The MR is a “mere scrap of paper” because the proceedings in the criminal case have already been concluded with finality with the judgment of acquittal, de Lima lawyer Boni Tacardon told reporters through Viber.

“De Lima’s defense team will be filing a motion to expunge the MR,” Tacardon said.

“Nothing short of a Supreme Court decision reopening the case can vest the judge with jurisdiction anew to alter a judgment of acquittal which is final and executory immediately, hence unappealable, whether by MR with the trial court or appeal to a higher court.”

The De Lima camp is awaiting a ruling on their request for bail in another Muntinlupa court trying the remaining charge -- tolerating the drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City when she was still justice secretary.

On May 12, the Muntinlupa RTC dropped the case of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading against De Lima, related to her alleged involvement in shady deals at the NBP.

After key witness and former Bureau of Corrections deputy director Rafael Ragos recanted his testimonies last year, presiding judge Joseph Alcantara of Branch 204 said reasonable doubt was cast on the guilt of the 63-year-old De Lima, who has been under detention since February 2017.

“Under the circumstances of this case, the testimony of witness Ragos is necessary to sustain any possible conviction. Without his testimony, the crucial link to establish conspiracy is shrouded with reasonable doubt,” the court said.

The prosecution claimed proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs were delivered to de Lima in two tranches of PHP5 million on Nov. 24 and Dec. 15, 2012.

Ragos and intelligence agent Jovencio Ablen were initially presented as witnesses but the judge noted that only the former claimed knowledge of the supposed source of the money. (PNA)

29% of Filipinos say quality of life got better in past 12 months

MANILA – Twenty-nine percent of adult Filipinos said that their quality of life improved over the past 12 months, according to a survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The survey, conducted from March 26 to 29, 2023, revealed that 25 percent of the respondents felt that their lives got worse, while 46 percent said their lives remain “unchanged” compared to a year ago.

SWS said this resulted in a net gainer score of +5, which was computed by subtracting the percentage of losers from gainers and was classified as “high”.

The pollster pointed out that the March 2023 net gainer score was 3 points below the “high” +8 recorded in December 2022.

SWS further added that the current national net gainer score is also 13 points below the” very high” +18 in December 2019, noting that it still has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. In Metro Manila, net gainers dropped from very high to high, down by 16 points from +18 in December 2022 to +2 in March 2023.

The net gainer score also fell from very high +10 to high +6 in Mindanao, and from fair -4 to mediocre -14 in Visayas. Balance Luzon, on the other hand, slightly climbed by two points from +10 to +12.

The First Quarter 2023 Social Weather Survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults aged 18 and above nationwide -- 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

The sampling error margins are ±2.8 percent for national percentages, ±5.7 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. (PNA) n