Detained former Senator Leila de Lima on Tuesday filed a motion of reconsideration which asked the Muntinlupa Court Regional Trial Court (RTC) to reverse its ruling denying her petition for bail on her third and remaining illegal drug case.
The former Senator's motion was filed by her legal counsels.
"WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed that the Order dated 07 June 2023 be RECONSIDERED and SET ASIDE, and that a new Order be issued GRANTING herein Accused's 11 December 2020 Motion for Bai Ad Cautelam and 09 March 2023 Supplemental Motion for Bail," the motion reads.
De Lima's camp said that the Manila RTC Branch 256 "committed grave but reversible errors" in its earlier order.
The former Senator's camp also pointed out that in determining whether the latter should be granted provisional liberty, the court "applied the test in determining probable cause" instead of "using the standard of strong evidence of guilt".
"Probable cause cannot be used in the determination of whether or not bail can be granted in a capital offense. In bail proceedings, it is not sufficient that there is a well-founded belief that a crime has been committed and that the accused is probably guilty thereof," they stressed.
De Lima's camp also said that the "honorable court merely relied on the testimonies of the Prosecutor's witnesses, as if no cross-examination was ever conducted by all the accused in the case."
Last June 7, the Manila RTC Branch 256 presiding judge Romeo Buenaventura said that the court finds de Lima's humanitarian grounds "not compelling."
"The accused herself admitted that though she is already a senior citizen and has several health issues, she is not suffering from any serious life-threatening health condition," he earlier said.
