“Government presents PAO lawyer in reopened De Lima drug case”

A Muntinlupa court has reopened one of the two drug cases against former Senator Leila de Lima to enable government prosecutors to present testimony from a Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) lawyer who helped prepare an affidavit against her. Lawyer Demeteer Huerta was one of the PAO lawyers who assisted former Bureau of Corrections officer in charge Rafael Ragos in executing affidavits implicating De Lima in the illegal drug trade at New Bilibid Prison. Ragos later recanted his testimony against De Lima, claiming he was directed by justice officials to implicate the senator. Despite protests from De Lima’s legal team, the court maintained that the Rules of Court did not prohibit reopening a case to receive rebuttal evidence after it had been submitted for decision. The decision will be handed down as planned on May 12. Critics have called on Philippine President Marcos to end all politically motivated prosecutions of government critics, such as De Lima and journalist Maria Ressa, before meeting with US President Joe Biden next week.