De Lima wants Noynoy, Bato to testify on her drug cases

The camp of detained Sen. Leila de Lima wants former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa,  among more than 40 witnesses, to testify before the court and clear her of involvement in illegal drugs during her stint as justice secretary.

“We want to present [Aquino] to prove that, at all times, there was no issue nor even a rumor that involved Senator De Lima in drug trading,” said Filibon Tacardon, the senator’s lawyer, on Friday.

“Because if he knows, he should have taken action against her,” Tacardon added.

De Lima, then chair of the Commission of Human Rights, was appointed by Aquino to head the Department of Justice (DOJ) from 2010 to 2015, until she decided to run for senator.

The three drug cases stemmed from testimonies of drug lords during the House of Representatives’ hearing about the proliferation of drugs in New Bilibid Prison in 2016.

The drug lords alleged that De Lima, as former DOJ secretary, demanded millions of pesos from them to fund her senatorial campaign during the 2016 polls.

Besides Aquino, De Lima’s camp will present 43 other witnesses, including senatorial aspirant Dela Rosa, as well as present and former staff and officials of BuCor and DOJ.

According to Tacardon, Dela Rosa will take the witness stand to corroborate the testimonies of BuCor prisoners, who were part of the 41 witnesses of the prosecution.

“Dela Rosa made a statement before threatening the inmates. And prior to the case being filed, he was visiting the inmates and asking them to testify. And that will prove that these witnesses were really pressured and coerced to testify against Senator De Lima,” he explained.