New Bilibid Prison inmate Engelberto Durano (in blue) testifies during the House committee on justice’s inquiry on the Bilibid drug trade on Thursday.
A lawmaker on Thursday questioned the credibility of an inmate at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) who claimed that he personally handed over P1.5 million in cash placed in boxes to Sen. Leila de Lima in 2014.
Rep. Salvador Belaro Jr. of 1-Ang Edukasyon party-list criticized Engelberto Durano for failing to remember the exact date when he handed a big amount of money to the then justice secretary.
“Hindi niyo matandaan ‘yung date pero natatandaan mo ’yung scarf, ’yung dance instructor, ’yung biruan sa TI. Are you giving impression to this body that you have a selective memory?” Belaro asked Durano. Durano curtly replied: “Buwan lang natatandaan ko.”
In Durano’s affidavit which he read before the House committee on justice’s inquiry on the illegal drug trade inside the NBP, he said sometime in November and December 2014, slain drug lord Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz asked him to prepare P1.5 million for De Lima.
READ: Bilibid inmate claims De Lima got P1.5M from ‘Jaguar’
Asked what De Lima told him when she received the boxes of money, Durano said: “Wala na po siyang sinabi basta inabot ko na lang.”
Durano said he gave De Lima the money even before she led a raid inside the penitentiary on Dec. 15, 2014, prompting Belaro to point out again why Durano forgot the exact date of his transaction with the then justice secretary.
The inmate said Diaz told him to secure the money inside shoe boxes and wrap it in gift wrapper, and then have these delivered to De Lima.
Durano said he proceeded to the Bilibid TV Channel 3 (BTV-3) office that served as the office of his fellow inmate Jaybee Sebastian, an alleged asset of De Lima. Inside the BTV-3 room he saw De Lima and Sebastian waiting for him.
READ: De Lima says Sebastian a gov’t asset, OK if he testifies
“Inabot ko na kay Secretary De Lima ang kahon na may lamang P1.5 million at sinabi, ‘Ma’am ito na po.’ Kinuha ito ni secretary at inabot sa lalakeng sumalubong sa akin,” Durano added.
(I gave De Lima the box containing P1.5 million and said, “Ma’am, this is it.” Secretary De Lima took it and gave it to the man who met me.)
As he left, Durano said he looked back and saw De Lima posing seductively near a pole in front of Sebastian while holding a scarf.
“Habang papalayo ako at nakalingon ako sa kaniya (De Lima) at nakita ko na lumalakad siya na parang model papunta sa gitna ng poste na bakal sa BTV3, sabay hawak sa poste at sa kaniyang scarf at nagsalita na ‘OK ba Jaybee’ na ang isang kamay ay nakataas at ang isa ay nasa baba,” Durano said.
(As I was walking away, I looked back at Secretary De Lima and saw that she was walking like a model toward the metal pole in the middle of the BTV-3, then she held the pole and her scarf and said, “Is this okay, Jaybee?” as one hand was raised and the other was lowered.)
Durano said De Lima looked like a dance instructor seducing Sebastian but later referred to her as “tiguwang igat,” which is Bisaya for “malanding matanda (flirtatious old person).”/rga
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