Ronnie Dayan.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
The former driver and boyfriend of Senator Leila De Lima appeared before the Department of Justice (DOJ) to ask for more time to respond to the complaint filed by leaders of the House of Representatives for snubbing the investigation on the proliferation of illegal drugs at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
Ronnie Dayan was supposed to file a motion asking that he be given up to Feb. 22 to respond to the complaint for disobedience to summons filed by the House of Representatives through House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez together with Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas and House Committee on Justice Chairman and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali.
The DOJ has yet to rule on his motion.
Several high-profile inmates testified that it was Dayan who acted as “bagman” to collect funds from Bilibid inmates especially during the election campaign.
The Congress sent a subpoena to Dayan on Sept. 28 and Oct. 6 last year to attend the inquiry but he failed to do so prompting Congress to issue a show-cause order and eventually cited him in contempt and ordered his arrest.
READ: House cites Ronnie Dayan in contempt; arrest order out
Dayan was eventually arrested on November last year.
After his arrest, the congressional inquiry was reopened.
During the hearing, it was revealed that De Lima instructed Dayan not to appear in Congress. The senator gave the instruction through a text message to Dayan’s daughter. De Lima was already charged by the DOJ in court for the same offense.
De Lima was separately charged with the same complaint before the Quezon City trial court.
De Lima and Dayan are also facing separate drug trafficking charges before the DOJ for allegedly being involved in the NBP drug trade. RAM