Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 19) — Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, former aide of now Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, was released from jail on Thursday, according to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
Reyes — who has been detained for nearly nine years due to her alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam — was discharged from the Taguig City Jail through a writ of habeas corpus granted by the Supreme Court’s (SC) First Division, the BJMP said in its advisory.
Reyes earlier ran to the high court for the writ of habeas corpus, saying she has been deprived of her constitutional right to due process — specifically the right to speedy trial.
She noted the delays in the proceedings and argued that the period of her detention is “longer than any other accused similarly charged with the offense of plunder.”
In its decision dated Jan. 17, the SC sided with Reyes, saying how her confinement “has become oppressive thus infringing upon her right to liberty.”
“While the writ is generally not available to a person whose liberty is under custody of an officer under process issued by a court or judge, when such custody becomes vexatious, capricious, and oppressive amounting to an infringement on the constitutional right to speedy trial of an accused, the writ of habeas corpus may be provisionally availed of,” the ruling read.
The SC, however, stressed that the writ’s issuance will not influence the principal plunder case lodged against her.
“The [case] shall proceed independently and the court may lawfully exercise its jurisdiction over the proceedings,” it noted.
Reyes was accused of conspiring with then Senator Enrile to funnel millions in pork barrel funds to bogus projects. Enrile was released from detention for humanitarian reasons.
EXPLAINER: What you need to know about the PDAF scam
