Drug lord’s bagman is gov’t witness vs De Lima

Senator Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

A bagman of a high-profile drug lord inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) is one of the government’s witness against former Justice Secretary and now Senator Leila De Lima.

The same bagman, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said, also linked several military officers, a police general and a city mayor.

Aguirre, however, refused to give further details saying they are preparing for the House inquiry on the proliferation of illegal drugs inside Bilibid.

Aside from the bagman, the Justice Chief said there are three other witnesses who have already executed an affidavit against De Lima. The justice chief said these are prison guards and people close to her.

READ: DoJ secures witnesses versus De Lima

President Rodrigo Duterte revealed that De Lima’s former driver and boyfriend Ronnie Dayan have been collecting money from drug inmates inside the national penitentiary.

De Lima admitted her close ties with Dayan but denied allegations of collecting drug money.

READ: De Lima mum on ex-driver’s alleged ties to drugs

Duterte revealed that Dayan was able to buy and build two large houses, one of which was under the name of his sister.

While there are no testimonies saying it was the senator who received the money, Aguirre said the testimony is by implication.

“Because of the accusation that it was the driver collecting the money, people do not believe that he was doing it without the knowledge of the senator,” Aguirre told reporters on the sidelines of the EU-Philippines Justice Support Programme II Final Event held Wednesday at Marco Polo Hotel in Ortigas.

Aside from collecting money, Aguirre said the witnesses also testified about the neglect of the former officials that led to the proliferation of illegal drugs and various illegal activities inside the prison.

He, however, clarified that the DOJ’s investigation is not focused on De Lima.

Aguirre said their focus is to know the reason why illegal drug trade proliferated inside the prison.

“We are not focusing our investigation [on] any particular individual but definitely when I say that we are investigating ex-officials of DOJ, that include the highest to the lowest.”

“As long as we could show that there is probable cause against them, we are going to file the necessary charges,” Aguirre added. RAM

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