P1M reward raised for info leading to De Lima’s ex-lover

MANILA — A million pesos has been pooled as reward money for any information that could lead to the arrest of Ronnie Dayan, the controversial former driver and security aide of Sen. Leila de Lima, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio revealed on Tuesday.

In a media briefing, Topacio showed the bundled cash in P1,000 denomination to reporters, saying that the bounty for Dayan consisted of pledges from seven businessmen.

“All roads [in the House probe on the illegal drug trade in New Bilibid Prison] lead to De Lima, and all roads lead us back to Dayan,” he said. “He is valuable alive for his testimony.”

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) earlier committed P100,000 as reward money after the House of Representatives justice committee cited Dayan for contempt for snubbing a congressional inquiry on the NBP illegal drug trade, and ordered his arrest.

Topacio expressed confidence that the increased amount would encourage informants to surface and reveal Dayan’s whereabouts.

The lawyer, who served as the legal counsel of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, noted that the businessmen who pledged the reward money, which was supposedly  gathered just this Sunday, were nonpartisan and “non-political.”

“They want Dayan to surface, and we want the truth,” Topacio said, noting that the driver could serve as a state witness against the lawmaker.

He further revealed that he has been working with a friend from the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to arrange a hotline for those with information on Dayan and work on the protocols and safeguards for his arrest.

“He cannot remain in hiding if no one is protecting him,” he said. “If De Lima knows his actual whereabouts and has communication with him, then she is obliged to inform the proper authorities. She can be charged with obstruction of justice [if she hides information about him].”

In a television interview on Monday, De Lima admitted her past relationship with Dayan, which she said lasted for a few years.

VACC founding chair Dante Jimenez, who was part of the team that lodged a disbarment case against the senator before the Supreme Court for her affair with the married Dayan, said De Lima’s admission has strengthened their case. But he refused to elaborate further for fear of violating the rules of the high court.

President Duterte has alleged that Dayan was De Lima’s bagman and collector of drug protection money at the NBP during her term as justice secretary. De Lima has also been accused of using the drug money for her campaign kitty. Duterte’s allegations have triggered a House inquiry on the scale of drug trafficking from the Bilibid prison and several high profile convicts had claimed during the House investigation that they were remitting money to De Lima in millions of pesos.

“She previously said ‘invent pa more!’ on our accusations, but this shows that we are not inventing anything,” Topacio said.  SFM/rga

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