Carpio: Leila De Lima should be released

Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate  Justice Antonio Carpio is another personality that calls for the immediate release of detained opposition senator Leila De Lima from his detention cell in Camp Crame in Quezon city.

Carpio in 2017 made his dissent and voted to oppose the continued detention of the opposition senator when it was questioned before the Supreme Court.

“As I wrote in my dissent, she should be released because the cases against her have no leg to stand on,” he said.

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice (retired) Antonio Carpio
(photo credit to owner)

He voted within the minority, 9-6 Supreme Court ruling in October 2017 which upheld the arrest warrant issued against De Lima by a Muntinlupa court on drug charges. 

De Lima is being detained based on the testimonies of high  profile convicts who claimed she was involved in the drug trade at the national penitentiary during her time as justice chief. 

The opposition senator has denied the allegations and maintains everything is politically charged.

Carpio’s dissent.

Carpio has described the detention of the senator as “one of the grossest injustices ever perpetrated in recent memory,” and the accusation against the senator for the illegal drug trade was “blatantly a pure invention” and a “fake charge.”

“The Information glaringly does not charge the non-bailable offense of illegal trade of drugs since not a single essential element of this particular offense is alleged in the Information. What the Information actually charges is the bailable offense of direct bribery. Yet petitioner is held without bail,” he said.

“Worse, direct bribery falls under the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan, not the RTC that issued the Warrant of Arrest that keeps petitioner under detention for the non-existent, non-bailable offense of illegal trade of drugs as charged in the present Information,” he added.

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Report from ABS-CBN News