The camp of detained reelectionist Senator Leila de Lima dared former Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to answer the revelations of co-accused-turned-state witness Rafael Ragos, former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge, that he was forced to pin down and connect the lawmaker to the alleged illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa.
Ragos executed an affidavit dated April 30 and cleared De Lima and her former aide, Ronnie Dayan. He said he did not give P10 million to De Lima and Dayan at the former’s residence in Paranaque in November and December 2012.
In his affidavit, Ragos revealed that in September 2016, a week before the House of Representatives held a hearing on the problem of illegal drugs at the NBP, he was ordered by Aguirre, thru Danny Yang, to attend a meeting at Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque.
“During said meeting, then Sec. Aguirre interrogated and coerced me to admit something that did not happen. He escorted me to another room where Ablen was, and they showed me a copy of a statement. I asked them: ‘Ano 'yan?’' Ablen responded: ‘Ginawa namin ni Esmeralda yan, may kopya sya n'yan,’” he said.
He added, “When I asked Sec. Aguirre what they want me to do, he said: ‘Mag-execute ka ng affidavit, mag-corroborate ka sa statement ni Ablen, kung hindi, alam mo mangyayari.’ Salvador drafted the Affidavit implicating Senator De Lima in illegal transactions during her stint as then Justice Secretary.”
Aguirre issued a statement on May 4 to deny Ragos’ allegations.
“I was genuinely surprised at the statement of Mr. Rafael Ragos that I coerced him to execute affidavits involving Senator Leila de Lima in the drug trade in the Bilibid prisons. It is farthest from the truth, I was never involved in any efforts to coerce him,” said Aguirre.
He stated that “Mr. Ragos has always made it clear to me that his statements are true and he was voluntary offering them to us to correct an injustice and to tell the truth.”
“This brings me to my next question, why only now? Why retract now when the May 9,·2022 National Elections is only a few days away and the accused, Senator Leila de Lima is lagging very far behind in surveys and voter's preferences? Is it possible that Mr. Ragos is being used as a pawn in last ditch efforts to gain sympathy from voters?” said Aguirre.
“As to the motives of Mr. Ragos, we can only surmise. However, I know for a fact that he was asking for payment of back pay during the time that he was not receiving his regular pay but he did not receive any. It also came to my knowledge that Mr. Ragos was asking to be appointed to some government post but he was ignored. Clearly. Mr. Ragos is a man with a grudge,” he said.
“Lastly, as a lawver, allow me to state that it is a time honored rule that RETRACTIONS ARE UNRELIABLE UNLESS BACKED UP BY INCONTROVERTIBLE EVIDENCE. As it is, devoid of anv reliable back-up, the statement of Mr. Ragos is a worthless piece of paper,” said Aguirre.
Boni Tacardon, De Lima’s lawyer, told Manila Bulletin that “The Defense Team of Sen. Leila De Lima is of the belief that the assertions made by Atty. Vitaliano Aguirre II should best be responded to by Director Rafael Ragos himself.”
“We have no information nor personal knowledge of the supposed meetings and conferences he had with Dir. Ragos. Nevertheless, the Department of Justice already said that they will refer Mr. Ragos’ sworn affidavit to the Office of the Ombudsman and he may well raise them again as his defense. Be that as it may, the time is always right to do the right thing,” said Tacardon.
He added, “Anent his insinuations with regard to the timing of the recantations made by Kerwin Espinosa and Director Ragos as intended to promote the re-election of Sen. De Lima, suffice it to say that the same is beyond our control.”
“Kerwin issued his recantation in the light of the case filed against him by the NBI while Dir. Ragos himself said that he was bothered by his conscience. We do not have any hold nor did we in anyway influence these supposed witnesses in coming out with their recantations,” he said.
According to Tacardon, “Although they were made five years late, still, Sen. De Lima appreciates the fact that these witnesses were enlightened and were able to muster the courage to finally speak up and expose the truth behind their false allegations against Sen. De Lima. Sabi nga ng mga millennials, ‘sana all.’”
Tacardon said, “Atty. Aguirre’s blanket denials of the allegations made by Director Ragos deserves no credence. Mr. Aguirre cannot simply dismiss the lurid details provided by Dir. Ragos in his sworn affidavit. It is incumbent on Atty. Aguirre to provide details of his accusations against Dir. Ragos.”
He said records will show “the penchant of Atty. Aguirre in making unsubstantiated accusations.”
“Before, he claimed that he has documents to show that Sen. De Lima has transactions with drug lords amounting to 1 Billion pesos. He also claimed that Sen. De Lima kept for herself the 300 million seized from the high profile inmates during the 2014 raid of the Bilibid. He also tried to link Sen. De Lima to the fatal stabbing of Tony Co. In all three cases, he has not presented any proof whatsoever to back up his accusations against Sen. De Lima. Atty. Aguirre made other accusations in the past which he never supported with proofs or evidence,” the lawyer said.
Ragos’ testimony and previous affidavits are crucial to a drug case filed by the Department of Justice against De Lima and Dayan before a Muntinlupa court in February 2017.
In case 17-165, the DOJ charged that from November 2012 to March 2013, De Lima and Ragos conspired with Dayan to demand and extort money from high-profile inmates at the NBP to support De Lima’s senatorial bid.
It stated that inmates, using cell phones and electronic devices, traded illegal drugs and gave the proceeds to De Lima through Ragos and Dayan in the amounts of P5 million on Nov. 24, 2012, P5 million on Dec. 15, 2012 and P100,000 in weekly tara from the inmates.
The DOJ changed the charges from illegal drug trading to conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading in 2017.
In case 17-165, the DOJ removed Ragos as accused in the amended information and became one of the prosecution’s witnesses.