Whistleblower Sandra Cam has tagged former undersecretary Francisco Baraan III as the bagman of Senator Leila de Lima in anomalous deals during their tenures at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Si USec Baraan na ‘yan, I’ve heard he has cancer, that’s good for him. Siya ‘yung undersecretary na piling-pili or mahal ni De Lima kasi involved siya doon sa catering ni Mang Kiko. Doon sa P10 na para sa DOJ, tsaka ‘yung malalaking cases na issue doon (I heard USec Baraan has cancer; that’s good for him. De Lima was very fond of him because he was involved in the catering of Mang Kiko, where P10 goes to the DOJ, and other big cases),” Cam said during a press briefing Wednesday at Club Filipino in San Juan. She was referring to the alleged P94-million worth of “illegal” contracts that the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) entered into.
“He’s the one getting the share for the Department of Justice. So don’t tell me sa kanya lang ‘yun. Syempre boss niya kasama na doon (Don’t tell me he’s the only one benefiting there. Of course his boss also benefits),” Cam added.
Baraan, whose name along with that of De Lima’s appeared in the drug matrix of President Rodrigo Duterte, had earlier denied his alleged involvement in the proliferation of drugs at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
READ: Ex-Justice USec denies ties with drugs
Cam also reiterated that De Lima and her driver and alleged lover Ronnie Dayan would frequent the NBP.
READ: Sandra Cam: De Lima’s driver frequented Bilibid for drug money
“Sabi ko nga kung pinagbigyan ako ng CA (Commission on Appointments) that time, naopen ko na ‘to. It’s an open secret (As I’ve said, if only the CA had allowed me, I would have exposed this. It’s an open secret),” Cam said during a press conference Wednesday at Club Filipino in San Juan. “You can go. You’re from the media, you can enter the BuCor (Bureau of Corrections) and you can ask some inmates there, that nakikita ko siya palagi (I would always see her).”
“Ang palagi doon nagbalik twice a week, si Ronnie Dayan during the time of OIC director (Rafael Marcos Ragos). Pero siya mismo pumupunta sa kubol ni Jaybee Sebastian noong hindi pa natanggal (Ronnie Dayan would go there twice a week during the time of OIC director Ragos. He would go inside the cell of Jaybee Sebastian when it was not yet demolished),” she added.
Cam earlier claimed that De Lima was protecting Sebastian, sparing him from surprise raids in the penitentiary because he was the latter’s friend.
Cam, however, Cam admitted she has no clue on the overall extent of drug operations inside the national penitentiary.
“The (extent of the) operations of drugs inside the Bureau of Corrections is too huge. Wala akong alam kung sino ang nasa taas ni De Lima (I don’t know who is De Lima’s higher-up),” she said.
“Hanggang kay De Lima lang ang pagkakaalam ko because of Ronnie Dayan. Kung sino man and nasa taas niya, hindi ko na alam (I only know of De Lima’s involvement because of Ronnie Dayan. Whoever is above her, I would not know).” Khristian Ibarrola/IDL
READ: Sandra Cam to de Lima on NBP ‘kubol’ scandal: ‘I told you so’
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