The Court of Appeals has reversed for lack of due process the ruling of the Office of the Ombudsman dismissing in 2019 the criminal and administrative complaints filed by former senator Leila M. de Lima against then justice secretaries Vitaliano N. Aguirre II and Menardo I. Guevarra, now solicitor general.
The CA, in reversing the ruling, remanded to the OMB De Lima's complaints for "proper disposition."
De Lima, also a former justice secretary, charged Aguirre and Guevarra criminally with dereliction of duty and graft, and administratively for grave misconduct and gross negligence, for allowing persons deprived of liberty to testify against her in illegal drugs cases and including them in the government's witness protection program.
The testimonies of the PDLs during the 2016 congressional investigation led to the filing of illegal drugs cases against De Lima and several other persons before the Department of Justice in 2017.
The DOJ in 2017 filed before the Muntinlupa City regional trial court three criminal cases against De Lima and her co-accused. With the findings of probable cause by the RTC, warrants of arrest were issued against De Lima that led to her detention at the Philippine National Police's custodial center in Camp Crame in Quezon City.
The former lawmaker was eventually acquitted by the RTC in two criminal cases. She has one pending drug case before the court, though she was recently granted bail and ordered released after more than six years of detention.
In a decision issued last 21 November and made public yesterday, the CA ruled: "In the light of the foregoing, the assailed Notices of the Ombudsman (resolutions on dismissal of the complaints) are hereby declared void for lack of due process. Accordingly, this case is remanded to the Ombudsman for appropriate action for a proper disposition of this case."
The decision was written by Associate Justice Raymond Reynold R. Lauigan with the concurrence of Associate Justices Apolinario D. Bruselas Jr. and Eleuterio L. Bathan of the CA's special 17th division.
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