Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 16) – Two more witnesses in the last drug case of former Senator Leila De Lima have recanted their testimonies, a document obtained on Monday by CNN Philippines showed.
In a letter addressed to De Lima and former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Chief Franklin Bucayu dated Oct. 12, former cops PMaj. Rodolfo Magleo and PSgt. Nonilo Arile told the former senator that they were recanting their testimonies “for several reasons with the primordial objective – to help you both to be set free together with your fellow co-accused.”
“We are bothered by our conscience. We do not want you to be victim of mistrial. We will reveal in due time. We are assuring you all that the last case will be dismissed,” read the letter released to the media by Atty. Boni Tacardon and Atty. Dino de Leon, De Lima’s lawyers.
The detained former law enforcers suggested that De Lima send her legal counsels to Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro to discuss the legal aspects of their recantation.
Magleo was convicted of kidnapping while Arile was convicted of kidnapping and murder.
They were among 10 New Bilibid detainees who testified against De Lima that were transferred to Sablayan in late July, the wives of two of the detainees previously told reporters. Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano, the Department of Justice’s spokesman, assured the wives at the time that there was nothing sinister about the transfer.
Magleo and Arile were among several inmates summoned as witnesses by the House Committee on Justice during its 2016 probe into the New Bilibid Prison drug trade, where they accused De Lima of involvement. After an appeal by former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, they were granted immunity.
The lawyers told reporters that Magleo handed De Lima the letter before her trial began on Monday. They explained that the letter said the two witnesses were recanting, so they submitted it to the court, prompting the prosecution to withhold Magleo’s presentation as a witness.
This was supposed to be Magleo’s first time to testify against the former senator in court. Arile, meanwhile, previously accused De Lima of involvement in the Bilibid drug trade to supposedly fund her senatorial campaign.
The two former cops said that they planned to recant as far back as 2018, but that they were not able to do so “due to the impossibility of communication.”
Furthermore, the lawyers, citing Magleo, said that five other witnesses would also recant their testimonies against De Lima.
“Sana itong limang ito ay lumabas na rin para makita na natin ang tunay na kwento sa tinatawag nating ‘mistrial of the century,’” Tacardo said, adding that he presumed the other five were also convicts or inmates.
[Translation: I hope these five come out so we can see the real story behind what we call the mistrial of the century.]
Meanwhile, the court on Monday granted Magleo’s request to be temporarily detained in the New Bilibid Prison as he “feels that there is a danger to his life.” The court also ordered Arile’s transfer for his safety.
De Lima, a staunch critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs that has left thousands dead, has been detained since 2017 for allegedly allowing the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison when she was justice secretary. She has repeatedly denied the accusations, saying they were fabricated to silence her.
She was acquitted in two previous drug cases. This final one was raffled off to Judge Gener Gito of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206, the third to handle the case in less than one month.
READ: Muntinlupa court acquits De Lima in 2nd drug case
Among De Lima’s co-accused in this case are Bucayo; her former bodyguard Ronnie Dayan; Jad Dera, who recently made headlines for freely leaving the National Bureau of Investigation detention center; Wilfredo Elli; Joenel Sanchez; and Jaybee Sebastian.
Last year, three key witnesses in the cases versus De Lima recanted their testimonies implicating her in the Bilibid drug trade. These were former BuCor officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos, self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, and Marcelo Adorco.
All three said they were threatened to testify against De Lima. Espinosa revealed that he was intimated by the police, while Ragos said Aguirre coerced him into executing affidavits which would link the former to the drug trade.
