De Lima ex-aide denies Pacquiao claim he admitted getting drug money

UNDER DURESS. In this file photo, Ronnie Dayan, former aide of Senator Leila De Lima, testified before the House of Representatives

MANILA, Philippines — A former aide of detained Sen. Leila de Lima denied receiving and delivering drug money to her, belying presidential candidate Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s claim in a recent televised debate.

In a manifestation filed at the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branches 204 and 256 dated April 4, Ronnie Dayan, through his lawyer Haidee Soriano, said “whatever statements” he made to Pacquiao or to the Senate in 2016, during its inquiry into the killing of Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera, Leyte, were “made under duress and without the benefit of counsel” of his choice.

Pacquiao claimed in the course of the April 3 presidential debate organized by the Commission on Elections that Dayan had confessed to receiving and delivering drug money, but that the matter merited due process.

“Alam n’yo po, nakausap ko yung ka-partner ni Leila de Lima, si Dayan, at nag-confess talaga na naghatid siya ng pera, may dala, tumanggap siya ng pera. Pero mahirap naman po ’yun kung hindi natin idadaan sa due process,” Pacquiao said in response to the question of whether the detained senator should be freed.Dayan is a coaccused of De Lima in the two remaining cases of conspiracy to commit drug trading being heard since 2017 at the Muntinlupa RTC.

A third case against De Lima was dismissed by the court in February 2021, after her demurrer was granted on the basis of the prosecution’s lack of evidence to prove her guilt.

Felons as resource persons

The senator, one of the most vocal critics of President Duterte, has been in detention at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame for more than five years. She is seeking a second term in the May 9 elections.Dayan also recanted the statements he made in 2016 during the House of Representatives’ hearings on the supposed drug trading in New Bilibid Prison.

The statements of the drug felons turned resource persons in the hearings were made the bases of the complaints filed in court by prosecutors of the Department of Justice.

“At that time, accused was already a detained prisoner of the House justice committee, with his liberty conditioned on the lies he was coerced to tell the House committee about his supposed involvement in the Bilibid drug trade,” Dayan said in his manifestation.

‘Highly prejudicial’

He said he had repeatedly denied in his counter-affidavits that he was ever involved in illegal drug trading, including receiving drug money.

“This manifestation is being filed to set the record straight before the Honorable Court, considering the highly prejudicial nature of the public statement made by a very prominent and famous public figure on the determination of accused’s guilt or innocence in a trial that is still pending before the Honorable Court,” he said.

‘Intimidated’

In a statement she issued on Thursday, De Lima said Dayan’s manifestation was a reminder of how most witnesses in the cases brought against her were being pressured to testify, whether for their own or their family members’ safety or freedom.

“By now, we already know that Dayan, along with other witnesses, were intimidated and forced to testify against me. Kung hindi man para sa sarili nilang kaligtasan, kalayaan o iba pang insentibo, kailangan nilang gawin ’yun dahil maliban sa pressure at takot, baka buhay nila o ng kapamilya nila mismo ang nakataya,” she said.

Nothing serious

De Lima herself had also repeatedly denied the accusations against her, saying that the drug charges were mere products of the President’s “personal vendetta.”

The detained senator also announced that, per her medical tests, she was not afflicted by any alarming health condition.“The results of my annual routine checkup have just been released. In God’s grace, the doctors did not see any serious disease in me. I am well and I thank the Lord for continuously blessing me with good health,” she said.

De Lima was confined at Manila Doctors Hospital for roughly 28 hours on April 5 to April 6 after the Muntinlupa courts hearing her drug cases granted her very urgent motion for a medical furlough.

Escorted by members of the PNP, she left the hospital around 4 p.m. on Wednesday to return to her detention quarters in Camp Crame.

She thanked her family, friends and supporters for their prayers and the hospital staff for “taking good care of me.”

De Lima is seeking reelection in the senatorial slate of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Francis Pangilinan. Because she is unable to campaign in person, her supporters bring a life-size standee of hers in all sorties.

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