A Muntinlupa court has ordered the transfer of 11 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), who are witnesses in the last remaining case of former senator Leila de Lima, from the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) for their safety and security.
Former senator Leila de Lima (Noel Pabalate)
In an order dated Dec. 13, Presiding Judge Gener Gito of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206 granted the motions of De Lima and government prosecutors to transfer the PDL witnesses to NBP in Muntinlupa.
The 11 PDLs who will be transferred are German Agojo, Tomas. Donina, Jaime Patcho, Wu Tuan Yuan (alias Peter Co), Engelberto Durano, Jerry Pepino, Hans Anton Tan, Herbert Colangco, Noel Martinez, Nonilo Arile, and Joel D. Capones.
Of the 11, nine of them have already written letters expressing their intent to recant their testimonies against De Lima. Only Colangco and Martinez have not signified their intention to recant their statements against the former senator.
“Wherefore, premises considered, the Manifestation with Urgent Motion to Issue Order to Transfer Custody Of Inmates for their Safety and Security, filed by accused De Lima, and the Manifestation with Motion to Transfer P DL Witnesses to the National Bilibid Prisons, filed by the prosecution, are hereby granted,” Gito wrote in his order.
De Lima, who is out on bail, only has one pending drug case in Muntinlupa court. Two of the three cases filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2017 under the Duterte administration have been dismissed by Muntinlupa courts in 2021 and this year.
Under case 17-167, De Lima and others are accused of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading.
In a letter dated Nov. 17, Agojo, Doniña, Patcho, Wu, Durano, Pepino and Tan wrote a letter to Gito, telling him that they “would like to recant our previous testimonies against the latter, in the interest of truth and justice.”
“We are aware that by doing this, we are risking our lives and the safety and security of our families. However, we firmly believe in the saying ‘the truth shall set you free,. At this point we would like to state that our participation as witnesses in the drug cases against former DOJ secretary De Lima was vitiated by undue compulsion and influence, and thus, any judicial statement made by us, is void of lack of consent,” they said.
They added, “At this point we would like to state that our participation as witnesses in the drug cases against former DOJ secretary De Lima was vitiated by undue compulsion and influence, and thus, any judicial statement made by us, is void of lack of consent.”
The PDLs asked Gito that they be “given the opportunity to set the record straight and correct our mistakes by stating the unadulterated truth this time.”
The seven said they “no longer desire to live with the knowledge that we allowed ourselves to become pawns or instruments of injustice. We wish to live a life of dignity, integrity and responsibility moving forward.”
“We would like to be given that chance should you allow us to recant our testimonies/statements in the aforementioned cases against former Senator De Lima. If given the chance, it will be our way of expressing our sincerest apologies to Senator De Lima and her family,” they said.
They said, “Finally, we request for our transfer from the Sablayan Prison & Penal Farm for our safety and security, and that of our families who also face the same riks when they pay us a visit at the said penal colony.”
In October, Magleo and Arile wrote a letter to De Lima and former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director Franklin Jesus Bucayu to say that they will recant their testimonies “for several reasons with the primordial objective–to help you both to be set free together with your fellow co-accused in the last case at the sala of Hon. Judge Gito of Muntinlupa City RTC Br. 206.”