Enrile’s former chief of staff released from jail
ACTING on a “petition for habeas corpus,” the Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the release of Gigi Reyes, the former chief of staff of then-senator and now Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, ruling that “her detention was oppressive, infringing upon her right to liberty.”
Reyes, Jessica Lucila G. Reyes, in real life, was released at around 6:30 p. m. Thursday, from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) female dormitory in Taguig City.
In 2021, Reyes, who was accused of alleged complicity in the “pork barrel scam,” petitioned the high court via a petition for habeas corpus, claiming her trial was “unreasonably delayed.”
She stressed that her constitutional right to a “speedy trial” was violated because she was in detention from July 9, 2014.
The Sandiganbayan has ordered her arrest for plunder, a non-bailable offense in connection with the P172.8-million kickbacks allegedly received from Janet Lim Napoles.
But the SC First Division said that while Reyes’ detention is based on a court order, her prolonged detention, without any progress on the case against her, is considered “vexatious, capricious, and oppressive.”
“If petitioner (Reyes) were to wait for a final judgment before seeking effective relief, then it might be too late for her to genuinely enjoy her liberty. By then, justice delayed would truly be justice denied,” the SC said.
The high court clarified that her release is only temporary as she is still required to face trial for alleged complicity in the pork barrel scam.
“…The grant of the writ of habeas corpus does not entail determination of the principal case. What is secured is merely the petitioner’s provisional liberty due to vexatious, capricious, and oppressive delays in trial,” the SC said.
