ON THE GRANT OF BAIL ON DE LIMA

The recanting witnesses have not proven before the court that their previous adverse testimonies on De Lima were done under threat or that they were coerced into falsely testifying before the court.

Moreover, even without their testimonies there is strong evidence establishing the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.

The government can appeal the erroneous grant of bail by the lower court to the higher courts.

Should the grant of temporary liberty is affirmed on appeal, it doesn’t mean that the accused will be automatically acquitted. The public prosecutors can introduce further evidence to make a case for conviction.

If however she is finally exonerated, she nevertheless deserves her years of detention for the wrong doing she has committed against the former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, when as the then sitting Secretary of Justice, she defied the order of the Supreme Court by stopping the former from leaving the country for medical treatment. She may evade liability from the crime she is accused of — but she definitely can not escape the law of karma.

Salvador S. Panelo