MANILA — After former Senator Leila de Lima’s co-accused secured the inhibition of a Muntinlupa judge who denied their bail plea, it’s now the prosecution’s turn to ask for the inhibition of the new handling judge, citing his prior decision acquitting the former lawmaker.

State prosecutors on Wednesday filed a motion for voluntary inhibition of Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara, presiding judge of Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204.

Alcantara, in May, acquitted De Lima and co-accused Ronnie Dayan of the conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading charge on the ground of reasonable doubt, after the main witness, former Bureau of Corrections OIC Rafael Ragos, recanted his allegations that he personally delivered P10 million in drug money to De Lima’s residence in Parañaque in 2012.

• De Lima acquitted of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading

Prosecutors said this ruling casts doubt on Alcantara’s impartiality.

“Having adversely decided against the People in the previous Criminal Case No. 17-165, the undersigned Panel of Prosecutors cannot help but be apprehensive that the Honorable Presiding Judge will carry over his perceptions to the instant case,” the motion said.

“Thus, to erase any doubt as to the impartiality of the Honorable Presiding Judge as well as to remove any impression that he will similarly decide on the instant case in favor of the accused, the prosecution most respectfully moves that the Honorable Presiding Judge voluntarily inhibit himself from hearing the instant case,” it added.

The motion invoked decided Supreme Court cases which ruled that the “slightest doubt on the actions of a judge, whether well ground or not” can be the basis for voluntary inhibition.

It also cited Section 1, Rule 137 of the Rules of Court which states: “A judge may, in the exercise of his sound discretion, disqualify himself from sitting in a case, for just or valid reasons other than those mentioned above.”

State prosecutors ask Muntinlupa RTC Br. 204 Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara to inhibit himself from handling ex-Sen. Leila de Lima's last drug case. Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

State prosecutors ask Muntinlupa RTC Br. 204 Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara to inhibit himself from handling ex-Sen. Leila de Lima's last drug case. Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

State prosecutors ask Muntinlupa RTC Br. 204 Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara to inhibit himself from handling ex-Sen. Leila de Lima's last drug case. Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

State prosecutors ask Muntinlupa RTC Br. 204 Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara to inhibit himself from handling ex-Sen. Leila de Lima's last drug case. Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

REMULLA REACTION

Speaking at a press conference at the Department of Justice on Thursday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla distanced himself from the prosecution’s move to file a motion for inhibition.

“Alam mo, as an institution, inabot na namin yan. We cannot direct them, one way or the other, kasi that direction was set already before. So it’s actually their own volition that they’re doing this as far as institutional continuity,” he said.

“Well, it can work, it may not work, but that’s how lawyers think. That’s how prosecution lawyers want to play their case. We just have to respect the process right now,” he added.

De Lima’s last drug case was raffled to Alcantara after the former handling judge, Romeo Buenaventura of Muntinlupa RTC Branch 256, inhibited from the case.

• Muntinlupa judge inhibits from De Lima’s drug case

He had denied the former lawmaker’s bail petition on the ground that the evidence is strong.

• Muntinlupa court denies Leila de Lima's bail petition

It was De Lima’s 3 co-accused, Dayan, Joenel Sanchez and former BuCor chief Franklin Bucayu who asked Buenaventura to inhibit from the case after learning that his brother had assisted Dayan in executing an affidavit prior to a House hearing in 2016, which Dayan later recanted.

Dayan had claimed the late Rep. Reynaldo Umali, then-chair of the House Committee on Justice, coerced him to testify against De Lima.

It turned out Atty. Emmanuel Buenaventura, the judge’s brother, had acted as legal adviser to Umali.

• De Lima's 3 co-accused ask judge to inhibit self from their cases

Judge Buenaventura denied knowledge of his brother’s professional undertakings but recused from the case.

Should Alcantara inhibit, the case will be re-raffled for a second time this year.

De Lima has been detained since February 2017 on drug charges.

Two of the 3 drug charges have been dismissed.

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