Senator Leila De Lima. AP File Photo
A former police officer who claimed to have personally handed P1.5-million drug money to then Justice Secretary and now Senator Leila de Lima is reportedly a relative of President Rodrigo Duterte, the senator herself said on Friday.
“Mayroon po akong natanggap na information kanina na yang Durano pala na yan (I have received an information a while ago that Durano), I think he’s no longer in the active service pero police sya, napa corrupt daw pong police yan taga Danao daw po yan, Danao City (but he’s a police, a corrupt police official from Danao City),” De Lima told reporters at the Senate, referring to former officer Engelberto Durano.
“At relative daw po yan ni ng Pangulong Duterte (And he’s a relative of President Duterte),” she said.
In his testimony at the House of Representatives committee on justice, Durano alleged that he personally delivered drug money to De Lima supposedly on orders of slain drug lord Jeffrey Diaz alias “Jaguar.”
“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 (I handed the box with P1.5 million to Secretary De Lima and I told her, ‘Ma’am, I’m delivering this to you.’ She received it and handed it to the guy who approached me),” the former policeman said.
READ: Bilibid inmate claims De Lima got P1.5M from ‘Jaguar’
But the senator vehemently denied the allegation, saying she had never met Durano.
“I don’t know him. I have not met him so kasinungalingan ho yan (that’s a lie),” said De Lima.
“Never po akong tumatanggap kahit ano lalo na (I have never received anything especially) the so-called drug money. Sa mga acts of corruption, hindi po ako nagiging involved kahit anong klaseng (I have never been involved in any) acts of corruption,” she said.
No less than President Rodrigo Duterte himself has accused De Lima of being involved in the illegal drug trade when the latter was the Justice Secretary during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III. RAM/rga