Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra hinted that the two witnesses who recanted their testimonies against detained Sen. Leila M. de Lima on her illegal drugs cases will be presented anew before the trial court.
“The only way to find out if witnesses are lying is to present them in court for intensive examination and cross-examination,” Guevarra said in a text message to journalists covering the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Ultimately, it is the judge who will weigh the truthfulness and probative value of the testimony of witnesses, and will render judgment based on the totality of evidence presented by both sides at the end of trial,” he stressed.
Guevarra was referring to then Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Officer-in-Charge Rafael Marco Z. Ragos and self-confessed drug lord Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa who both recanted their testimonies against De Lima’s two drugs cases pending before the Muntinlupa City regional trial court (RTC).
Under the rules, either the prosecution or the defense may file a motion before the court for the recall of witnesses to testify anew during the trial.
In his affidavit executed last April 30, Ragos – also former intelligence deputy director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) – said: “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, on the delivery of monies to Sec. De Lima or Ronnie Dayan in whatever.”
Ragos claimed in his recantation that then Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II “coerced me to admit something that did not happen.”
In the case of Espinosa, he said in his April 28 affidavit that he “had no dealings with Sen. De Lima and I had not given her any money at any given time.”
“Any statements I made against the Senator are false and were the result of pressure, coercion, intimidation, and serious threats to my life and my family members from police who instructed me to implicate the Senator into the illegal drugs trade,” he said.
Former Justice Secretary Aguirre has denied allegations that he coerced Ragos to testify against detained De Lima.
“Mr. Rafael Ragos is downright lying!” declared Aguirre in a statement.
“Contrary to his claim, I was never involved in coercing him to make statements involving Senator Leila De Lima in the drug trade in the Bilibid Prison,” he stressed.
Senator De Lima has asked Secretary Guevarra to review the illegal drugs cases filed against her in view of the recantations of the testimonies by Ragos.
“In light of this statement of Ragos, there is a need for the DOJ to review the drug cases it filed against me to determine if indeed these were prosecuted by the Panel of Prosecutors even after being told by Ragos that his testimony and all his allegations against me ‘are all lies,’” De Lima said in a letter to Guevarra dated May 5, 2022.
“If upon review, it is determined that Ragos’ statements are true, then all the cases against me should be immediately withdrawn by the DOJ in order to prevent a further miscarriage of justice where, even after these revelations indicating prosecutorial misconduct amounting to the criminal offense of subornation of perjury, the DOJ will still continue prosecuting said cases,” the senator said.
De Lima, who is detained at the Custodial Center of the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City, is facing drug charges under Criminal Case Nos. 17-165 and 17-167 with Muntinlupa City RTC for her alleged involvement in the proliferation of the illegal drugs trading at the New Bilibid Prison when she was justice secretary.
Ragos had testified against De Lima during the trial of Criminal Case No. 17-165.
“This review should include the other case as well (Criminal Case No. 17-167) because if the Panel of Prosecutors that handles both cases are capable of suborning false testimony in one case, then nothing prevents them from doing the same in the other cases,” De Lima told Guevarra.
Also, De Lima said the DOJ should look into “the glaring facts in these cases which earlier on indicated a premeditated conspiracy among DOJ and other high government officials to fabricate drug cases against me.”
Earlier, the DOJ – through the Office of the Prosecutor General – said that the recantations of the testimonies will not affect the cases against the lady senator.
“We are not solely relying on the testimony of Ragos who is not our star witness in the cases,” Prosecutor General Benedicto A. Malcontento said.
Malcontento also said that the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) is already preparing the perjury charges against Ragos.
“In so far as the DOJ is concerned, we will just wait if these charges are filed or any entity would file against them and we would just have to decide accordingly.”
Also, Malcontento said the DOJ would welcome an initiative from the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct, motu proprio (on its own), an investigation on the claims of Ragos that he was coerced by former DOJ officials, incumbent NBI) officials and DOJ prosecutors into testifying against De Lima.
“If they will exercise their motu proprio powers, it will be good for us because the subject matter of the investigation and the persons involved are former officials of the Department of Justice and some are current members of the prosecution panel,” he said.
Also, Guevarra had earlier said the DOJ may consider filing perjury charges against Espinosa.