Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Aside from high-profile inmates, a top-ranking government official will also testify against Sen. Leila de Lima in the congressional probe on the proliferation of drugs at the national penitentiary, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said on Sunday.
In an interview over radio dzMM, Aguirre said the official will detail how he supposedly delivered at least P5 million worth of drug money to De Lima’s house in Parañaque when the latter was still justice secretary.
READ: Aguirre: Inmates to testify vs De Lima transferred to AFP facility
Aguirre, who refused to identify the witness, claimed De Lima personally received the payoff one morning with his driver and alleged lover Ronnie Dayan.
Dayan was accused by President Rodrigo Duterte of collecting drug money from drug lords at the New Bilibid Prisons allegedly for the senator’s campaign kitty.
Aguirre earlier said around 10 to 12 high-profile inmates have agreed to testify against De Lima in the congressional inquiry, eight of whom had already been transferred to a military facility.
READ: Inmate Colangco to testify vs De Lima in House drug probe
Aguirre identified two of the witnesses as convicted robber Herbert “Ampang” Colangco and convicted kidnapper and gang leader Noel Martinez, both of whom are members of the Bilibid 19.
Bilibid 19 is a group of high-profile inmates transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation and later to a highly secured facility in the Bilibid’s maximum security compound after authorities found out that they managed to live posh lifestyles despite incarceration.
Colangco, De Lima, Dayan and another drug convict Peter Co are supposedly in the President’s so-called drug matrix.
De Lima, who is leading a Senate probe on the spate of suspected extrajudicial killings in the country amid the administration’s relentless war on drugs, is being accused by Duterte of coddling lords during her stint at the Department of Justice. RAM/rga