Panelo on De Lima’s grant of bail

Here's the statement of Atty. Salvador Panelo, former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and Presidential Spokesperson under the Duterte administration, on the grant of bail on former senator Leila De Lima:

If the grant of bail is based on the recantation of witnesses, the court may have been oblivious on the established jurisprudence on the effect of recantation of witnesses.

The recanting witnesses have not proven before the court that their previous adverse testimonies on De Lima were done under threat or that they were coerced into falsely testifying before the court.

Moreover, even without their testimonies, there is strong evidence establishing the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.

The government can appeal the erroneous grant of bail by the lower court to the higher courts.

Should the grant of temporary liberty be affirmed on appeal, it doesn't mean that the accused will be automatically acquitted. The public prosecutors can introduce further evidence to make a case for conviction.

If, however, she is finally exonerated, she nevertheless deserves her years of detention for the wrongdoing she has committed against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, when as the then sitting Secretary of Justice, she defied the order of the Supreme Court by stopping the former from leaving the country for medical treatment. She may evade liability for the crime she is accused of — but she definitely can not escape the law of karma.