De Lima to seek bail anew as Ragos affirms recantation
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 5:18 p.m.) — Former Sen. Leila de Lima’s legal team is looking to move for her provisional liberty after prosecution star witness Rafael Ragos ended Friday his testimony where he reiterated that he was coerced by to implicate her in the illegal drug trade.
De Lima’s legal counsel Boni Tacardon told reporters that they will file a supplemental motion for bail as they believe that the prosecution no longer has evidence against her following the recantation of Ragos, former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge.
Tacardon said that should the the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 — which is handling one of the two remaining drug cases of the former senator — recognize Ragos’ reversal, they will also move for the dismissal of the case against De Lima.
READ: As govt star witness recants, De Lima moves for case dismissal
“If we look at the denial of Sen. Leila de Lima’s application for bail for this case, the former judge said there is evidence against her and the evidence that was referred to was the testimony of Deputy Director Ragos,” Tacardon said in Filipino.
He continued: “Now that this has been recanted, and if the court would believe this, the belief of the defense team is that there is no more evidence [against her.]”
In an earlier field motion, De Lima noted that when the court junked her Demurrer to Evidence dated Feb. 7, 2021, where she sought dismissal on the case midway trial, the court acknowledged that the deliveries and Ragos’ testimony as the sole basis of the charge.
In the cited court order, Presiding Judge Liezel Aquiatan noted that De Lima and Dayan noted that Ragos and his deputy Jovencio Ablen described her house where the former met Dayan and handed the bag filled with money. Ablen “was with Ragos at the time of the deliveries and he corroborated Ragos’ testimony in his own perspective.
Coercion
As Ragos wrapped up his testimony before the court, Tacardon said the former BuCor OIC reaffirmed that he only testified against De Lima due to “coercion” and “pressure” from former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.
Tacardon added that Ragos also said that former National Bureau of Investigation director Dante Gierran, Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Acosta, and other PAO lawyers like Demiteer Huerta and Riger Salvador also pressured him.
Philstar.com has reached out to Gierran and Acosta for comment. Aguirre has denied that he pressured Ragos to testify against De Lima.
Tacardon also said that Ragos testified that during a meeting with Aguirre, former Justice Undersecretary Raymond Mecate gestured that his throat would be slit if he did not testify against De Lima.
In a message to reporters, Acosta said that based on those who were present at the hearing, Ragos did not identify her as among those who pressured her. "Because I did not pressure him," Acosta added in Filipino.
Philstar.com could not independently verify the proceedings at the said hearing.
‘This is the end’
“He maintained that the only reason why he said those lies against Sen. Leila de Lima is because he was fearing for his life, for the life of his family and for his career,” Tacardon said.
“It’s a big deal that Deputy Director Ragos recanted his testimony because we always say that the truth will come out in the end. And it looks like this is the end,” he added.
De Lima, along with her former aide Ronnie Dayan, are accused before the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading during her time as justice secretary when she allegedly received P10 million which was delivered by Ragos.
She and six others are facing another drug case before Muntinlupa RTC Branch 256 for the same charge. The prosecution is still presenting evidence here and the court is still conducting hearings for her motion for bail.
State prosecutors initially charged De Lima with drug trading, but they later amended it to accuse the senator of conspiracy to commit drug trading inside the New Bilibid Prison. She supposedly committed this when she was the justice secretary during the Aquino administration.
The former senator will mark her sixth year in detention in February on these charges which she insists are trumped up and motivated only by the previous administration’s desire to get back at her for initiating investigations into former President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal “war on drugs.”
- Latest
- Trending
