‘Minimal effect’
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TIMELINE: De Lima’s five-year struggle in prison
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 2) — Another key witness in the drug cases of detained Sen. Leila De Lima has recanted his allegations against the lawmaker.
Last week, self-confessed drug dealer Kerwin Espinosa also recanted his allegations against De Lima.
In a notarized affidavit received by CNN Philippines on Monday, former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos said he was “forced” to execute affidavits implicating de Lima in the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) as he received “threats of being detained.”
In a media briefer, the Department of Justice (DOJ) maintained that Ragos’ retraction will only have a “minimal effect” on its cases against De Lima, since it believes that the testimonies of the prosecution’s witnesses are strong enough to prove the charges against the detained senator and her aide.
Ragos testified that he personally delivered money from convicts in the NBP to then-Justice Secretary De Lima’s residence on two occasions in 2012 for her senatorial bid. He said he transacted with De Lima’s former driver and aide Ronnie Dayan for her to receive P5 million per transaction.
The DOJ also noted the “suspicious” timing in Ragos’ recantation which arose five years after he testified in the Senate and submitted subsequent affidavits.
Ragos retracted his previous statements, affidavits, and court testimonies that he delivered money to De Lima and Dayan.
False testimony vs De Lima and Dayan?
“As far as I know and based on my professional relationship with Sec. De Lima, she is incapable of doing anything illegal, much less engage in the illegal drug trade or accept money from Bilibid inmates. All of my allegations to the contrary in my affidavits and House and court testimonies are all fiction, false, and fabricated,” the former BuCor chief wrote.
“In all of the foregoing instances, there was no mention of coercion or intimidation,” said the department. “Thus, the glaring delay on the part of Ragos in recanting his previous statements is indeed questionable and casts doubt on its truthfulness. His motive as well is highly suspicious.”
Ragos is a principal witness in one of two cases against De Lima pending at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court.
The former BuCor chief claimed he was forced to cooperate with Aguirre and public prosecutors to sign false affidavits against De Lima and Dayan, so he can be dropped as co-accused and turn into a witness instead.
As for De Lima, she admitted she did not expect Ragos to retract his statements since she said his testimonies were integral to the non-dismissal of her cases. The senator said she was glad that Ragos confessed and also named some of the personalities who allegedly conspired to put her behind bars.
“[I] hope that it is now clear to the Filipino people that the false charges for illegal drug trading filed against me by the DOJ were the product of a long-standing conspiracy that started all the way back in September 2016 in the House of Representatives and the Senate, involving high government officials from the legislative and executive branches,” said the lawmaker.
De Lima said she was not surprised by the mention of Aguirre as she supposed he was the “lead instigator” of the trumped-up charges against her.
De Lima, one of the staunchest critics of President Rodrigo Duterte, has been in jail since 2017 on allegations that she used drug money to fund her senatorial campaign in 2016. She has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Ragos said he was coerced by former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, who was appointed by Duterte.
“It is only a matter of time before the rest are identified by other false witnesses, mostly convicted inmates of the Bilibid, who were either bribed or coerced to make up stories about my supposed involvement in the Bilibid drug trade,” she added.
He said he met with Aguirre before the House hearing in September 2016, where Aguirre “interrogated and coerced” him “to admit something that did not happen” to corroborate the story of NBI intelligence agent Jun Ablen in pinning De Lima in the NBP drug scheme.
Ragos also said then-Justice Undersecretary Raymund Mecate “persistently pressured” him “to further implicate and manufacture lies” against De Lima.
“I am executing this affidavit freely, voluntarily, truthfully, and without any mental reservation whatsoever, in order to absolve Sec. De Lima and Ronnie Dayan, who are completely innocent, from entirely false and absolutely fabricated criminal charges,” he said in the affidavit signed on April 30.
For his part, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that if Ragos’ affidavit will be submitted to the DOJ, the agency will defer to the Office of the Ombudsman to look into the alleged improper behavior of former and current justice officials who were implicated.
Two days before Ragos signed his affidavit, Espinosa retracted his allegations against De Lima, saying he only invented stories of their dealings because he was threatened by the police two weeks before the Senate was set to probe the NBP drug trade.
The Prosecutor General explained the government did not cite Espinosa as a state witness because they were already satisfied with the testimonies of Ragos and some inmates to convict De Lima.
Calls to free De Lima and hold accountable those responsible for her five-year detention continue to mount after Espinosa and Ragos, who have both apologized to the lawmaker, retracted their allegations.
CNN Philippines’ Lara Tan and Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.
