Muntinlupa judge fined for misconduct in De Lima drug case

February 4, 2025 | 11:56am

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has found Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 256 Judge Romeo Buenaventura guilty of simple misconduct and neglect of duty in handling one of the drug cases against former senator Leila de Lima.

In a resolution issued on Nov. 13, 2024, the high court’s First Division imposed a fine of ?36,000 on Buenaventura—?18,000 for misconduct and another ?18,000 for neglect of duty—citing violations of the New Code of Judicial Conduct.

“Respondent Romeo Buenaventura is sternly warned that a repetition of the same offense or the commission of a similar act shall be dealt with more severely,” the Supreme Court stated.

The ruling stemmed from an administrative complaint filed by De Lima’s lawyers, Teddy Esteban Rigoroso and Rolly Francis Peoro. They accused Buenaventura of breaching judicial ethics and delaying the resolution of De Lima’s bail motion in her last remaining drug case.

The defense also argued that Buenaventura should have recused himself due to a conflict of interest involving his brother, Emmanuel Buenaventura.

Conflict of interest. The Supreme Court upheld findings by the Judicial Integrity Board (JIB), which noted that Emmanuel Buenaventura’s involvement with De Lima’s aide Ronnie Dayan during the 2016 congressional hearings made Judge Buenaventura liable under Canon 4, Section 4 of the New Code of Judicial Conduct, which states:

“Judges shall not participate in the determination of a case in which any member of their family represents a litigant or is associated in any manner with the case.”

Buenaventura denied knowledge of his brother’s actions and eventually inhibited himself from further proceedings in De Lima’s case. However, his initial failure to do so contributed to delays in resolving motions critical to the case.

“Like the JIB, we are unconvinced that the respondent had no inkling of his brother’s association with Dayan, as the congressional hearings in 2016 were much publicized,” the ruling read.

Delayed bail ruling. De Lima filed her first bail motion in December 2020 and another in March 2023. Buenaventura ruled on these motions only on June 7, 2023—denying them on grounds that "the evidence of guilt is strong."

He attributed the delay to work suspensions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Supreme Court dismissed this reasoning, pointing out that videoconferencing hearings had been available since January 2021.

De Lima's legal battles. The former senator was detained in February 2017 over allegations of illegal drug trading during her tenure as Justice Secretary. She was released on bail in November 2023 after another Muntinlupa court granted her motion. In June 2024, she was acquitted of her final drug charge when the same court dismissed it due to insufficient evidence. This marked her third acquittal after similar rulings cleared her in February 2021 and May 2023.