De Lima hails Taguig judge for inhibiting from Vhong Navarro’s case

Deniece Cornejo, Zimmer Raz and Cedric Lee. FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima welcomed the “sense of delicadeza” displayed by Taguig Judge Paz Esperanza M. Cortes for inhibiting herself from handling the case filed by comedian Vhong Navarro.

Government prosecutors sought the inhibition of Cortes after she granted the request of accused Cedric Lee, Simeon “Zimmer” Raz and Deniece Cornejo to post bail.

“We appreciate the sense of delicadeza exhibited by the judge, given the manifested loss of faith and confidence on the part of the prosecutors borne out of the highly questionable granting of bail to Cedric Lee, et al., amidst the strong and solid evidence presented by the public prosecutors during the bail hearings,” De Lima said in a text message.

“A new judge with a fresh perspective and impartial predisposition is needed to obviate miscarriage of justice in that case,” she added.

The prosecutors filed a motion for reconsideration on Cortes’ decision granting bail.

In her 72-page decision, the court said the prosecution failed to provide strong evidence that the illegal detention case is “actually serious.”

The prosecutors, in their motion said they want the new judge to rule on their appeal instead of Cortes.

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