MANILA – Malacañang on Monday stated that it would respect the disposition of a Muntinlupa court on cases against detained opposition Senator Leila de Lima following the retraction of a key witness on his statements accusing her of involvement in the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
Former Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) Officer-in-Charge Rafael Ragos, in a sworn affidavit dated April 30, retracted his allegations that he delivered money to de Lima.
“I now hereby declare and make known to the whole world that there is no truth whatsoever to any of these affidavits or House and court testimonies, or any other statement made in the media or other investigatory proceedings, including the Senate and the DOJ [Department of Justice], on the delivery of monies to Sec. De Lima or Ronnie Dayan in whatever amount,” Ragos said in his sworn affidavit.
Dayan is de Lima’s former bodyguard.
According to Acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, the Palace is leaving the fate of de Lima to the court.
“We respect the independence of the court handling the case of Senator Leila de Lima, particularly in evaluating the evidence presented, such as the statements of former Bureau of Corrections Officer-in-Charge Rafael Ragos,” he said in a press statement.
He also voiced continued trust in the ability of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and National Prosecution Service (NPS) to carry out the tasks.
“At the same time, we continue to trust the Department of Justice and the National Prosecution Service in performing their mandates in investigating and prosecuting the charges against the lady senator,” he added.
In his affidavit, Ragos said he was “coerced” by then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to make false claims against de Lima.
He further said that he was coerced into cooperating with Aguirre and DOJ public prosecutors in order to avoid being dismissed as a co-accused and instead turned into a witness against de Lima and Dayan.
Ragos testified in September 2016 that he personally delivered money from the illegal drug trade to then Justice Secretary de Lima’s residence on two occasions in 2012 for her senatorial campaign. He transacted with Dayan for her to receive PHP5 million per transaction, he said.
He released this recantation days after the retraction of self-confessed drug lord Roland “Kerwin” Espinosa on his allegations against de Lima.
Earlier, the Palace downplayed Espinosa’s affidavit, noting that his retraction would have no impact on de Lima’s cases filed in the Muntinlupa courts.
De Lima was acquitted in one of the three cases filed by the DOJ against her in 2017, while the other two are pending before Muntinlupa courts. Ragos is a key witness in one of the two remaining cases against de Lima and Dayan.
De Lima, one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s staunchest critics, has been detained since February 2017 for allegedly conspiring to run a drug trafficking ring inside the NBP in Muntinlupa City during her stint as Justice secretary.
She had repeatedly denied the allegations.
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