Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 16) — The presiding judge in the remaining drug case against detained former Senator Leila de Lima has voluntarily inhibited himself from the case after three co-accused individuals questioned his impartiality.
Judge Romeo Buenaventura of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 256 made the decision in an order dated June 15 after Ronnie Dayan, Joenel Sanchez, and Franklin Bucayu filed motions for his inhibition.
The three said the judge failed to disclose that he is the brother of Atty. Emmanuel Buenaventura, who previously assisted Dayan in the execution of his affidavit which the accused later said was coerced.
The petitioners also said Atty. Emmanuel served as legal adviser of the late House justice committee chairman Rep. Reynaldo Umali, whom Dayan claimed forced him to invent stories to implicate De Lima.
In his motion, Sanchez argued that Buenaventura’s failure to divulge that he is related to Atty. Emmanuel invites inquiry as to his neutrality.
However, Buenaventura maintained that the petitioners’ suspicions against him are \”unfounded, if not contrived.\”
He said the fact that he is the brother of Dayan’s previous counsel is insufficient to prove that he acted with malice or bad faith in conducting the proceedings in the case. The judge also said he had no knowledge that his brother had professional engagements with Dayan or Umali, as he is not privy to the clients Atty. Emmanuel represents.
Buenaventura further asserted that all his court orders – including the recent denial of De Lima’s bail plea – were resolved in accordance with laws and after considering arguments by all parties.
Despite these, he said he decided to inhibit from the case since the claims against him \”already tarnished the integrity and impartiality of the Court.\”
“For this reason, the undersigned Presiding Judge will exercise his discretion and will recuse himself from further hearing this case not because the allegations are true, but because it is his avowed duty as member of the Bench to promote confidence in the judicial system,” he wrote.
In a press briefing on Friday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the agency accepts Buenaventura’s decision to inhibit.
He added that Buenaventura might have felt pressured after De Lima’s motion for bail was denied.
“It’s unfortunate because the person who hears the case should probably be the one to decide the case. But if he already inhibited at this stage, then we have to accept that,” Remulla said.
De Lima’s defense team welcomed Buenaventura’s move, although it stressed that he should have earlier disclosed his ties with Atty. Emmanuel.
\”We pray that the case will be raffled to a new Presiding Judge at the soonest possible time, and that there will be a timely intervention from the Supreme Court (SC) maintaining its instruction to the new Presiding Judge to finish the case within 9 months,\” read the statement from De Lima’s camp.
The former senator had also sought Buenaventura’s inhibition, but her motion was filed only on June 16 – the same day the judge’s June 15 order was made public.
