Senator Leila de Lima. NOY MORCOSO III/INQUIRER.net
In an effort to bolster the criminal complaint filed against former Justice Secretary and now Senator Leila De Lima, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) submitted on Thursday a supplemental complaint-affidavit before the Department of Justice (DOJ) which included the findings of the House of Representatives’ committee on justice on the Bilibid drug trade.
READ: Anticrime group sues De Lima
The House committee on justice conducted an investigation into the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the prison. There were several witnesses who testified that the De Lima received millions of pesos to finance her bid for a Senate seat.
“All the witnesses who testified before the House Committee on Justice affirmed the rampant trading and sale of drugs within and outside the NBP (New Bilibid Prison),” VACC founding chairman and president Dante Jimenez said.
“All of them likewise stated under oath that proceeds of the drug sale were delivered to Sec. Leila M. De Lima in person or via her representative/s, for the purpose of helping her in her election campaign,” the supplemental complaint-affidavit read.
READ: House justice body: Bilibid drugs flourished under De Lima’s watch
VACC, in its supplemental complaint, included the affidavits of witnesses, including Presidential Security Group (PSG) member Joenel Sanchez; PSG member Romel Falcasantos; Superintendent Jerry C. Valeroso; Reynant D. Diaz; Rodolfo T. Magleo (Bilibid inmate); Herbert R. Colanggo (Bilibid inmate); Noel G. Martinez (Bilibid inmate); Jaime Patcho (Bilibid inmate); Hans Anton Tan (Bilibid inmate); Froilan “Poypoy” L. Trestiza (Bilibid inmate); Jojo R. Baligad (Bilibid inmate); Engelberto A. Durano (Bilibid inmate); Nonilo A. Arile (Bilibid inmate); Joel D. Capones (Bilibid inmate); Wu Tuan Yuan alias Peter Co (Bilibid inmate); and Vicente Sy (Bilibid inmate).
Aside from De Lima, others named in the complaint filed by the VACC through Jimenez included former DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Franklin Bucayu, De Lima’s former bodyguard and alleged lover Ronnie Dayan, her former security aides Sanchez and Jose Adrian Dera, convicted kidnapper Jaybee Sebastian and Wilfredo Ely, alleged bagman of Bucayu.
They are specifically facing a case for violation of Section 5, in relation to Section 26 (b) of Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
A panel has been created to handle the complaints filed by VACC as well as former officials of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
To date, however, the panel headed by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong has not yet issued a subpoena to order respondents to respond to the complaint via a counter-affidavit. RAM/rga