LEILA DE LIMA COMPOSITE IMAGE BY DANIELLA MARIE AGACER FROM INQUIRER AND AFP PHOTOS
MANILA, Philippines — Another witness plans to retract his accusations against former Senator Leila de Lima and others wrongfully charged in court.
Retired Police Brig. Gen. Jerry Valeroso expressed his intention in a letter dated December 18 to Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206. He aims to recant his initial testimonies against De Lima to “free all accused who were wrongfully charged” in court.
Valeroso also alleged that the criminal complaints against De Lima and the others are “pure hearsay and full of lies.”
He said he had been considering recanting since 2019 but hesitated due to concerns for his and his family’s safety.
“Because my conscience disturbed me, I planned to recant in early 2019. However, fearing for my life and my family’s safety, I lost the courage to do so,” Valeroso stated.
The retired police officer plans to submit his official affidavit of recantation to the RTC after consulting with his lawyer.
Valeroso is the 13th witness to withdraw his statements against De Lima, a prominent critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Before Valeroso, confessed drug trader Kerwin Espinosa and former corrections bureau chief Rafael Ragos were the first to recant their testimonies against De Lima in April 2022.
Two other government witnesses did the same in October 2023, followed by seven more in November 2023.
De Lima has already been acquitted on two of the three charges filed against her, which her camp consistently describes as “trumped-up.”
Before her arrest on February 24, 2017, De Lima had spent a decade investigating “death squad” killings allegedly orchestrated by Duterte during his time as Davao City mayor and in the early days of his presidency.
De Lima, 64, paid a heavy price for her steadfast pursuit of justice as Duterte and his allies sought to silence her.
She was forced from the Senate and into a jail cell on three drug trafficking charges that she and human rights groups have described as bogus.