A presiding judge of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 has been assigned to the third and last illegal drug case of former Senator Leila de Lima after a case raffle.
According to a court order, the case is now assigned to Muntinlupa RTC 206 presiding judge Gener M. Gito.
Gito will also be hearing the former Senator's petition for provisionary freedom which was earlier denied.
He is now the third presiding judge assigned in the case after two Muntinlupa courts voluntarily inhibited themselves due to questions of impartiality.
Last week, Muntinlupa 204 presiding judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara inhibited himself from hearing de Lima's last case after state prosecutors filed a motion against him.
In June, Muntinlupa RTC Branch 256 Judge Romeo Buenaventura voluntarily dropped the case to remove suspicion of the accused.
De Lima earlier expressed her disappointment toward the state prosecutors for seeking Alcantara's inhibition.
