Inquiry needed to see if other Leila witnesses were coerced
MANILA — Sen. Risa Hontiveros wants an inquiry to verify the statements of other witnesses who testified against detained lawmaker Leila De Lima, after two witnesses recanted their allegations against the latter.
Re-electionist Hontiveros, who has the backing of opposition coalition 1Sambayan as well as the Makabayan Bloc at the House of Representatives, also said that all officials behind what she called the trumped-up charges against De Lima must be brought to justice.
This comes around a week after former Bureau of Corrections officer-incharge Rafael Ragos and selfconfessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa retracted their testimonies pointing to De
Lima's supposed involvement in the illegal drug trade.
Ragos is a witnees in an ongoing drug case against De Lima, who has said that the allegations against her are motivated by politics.
"An inquiry must be made to check, if similar to Ragos and Espinosa, the testimonies of other witnesses against Sen. Leila were merely 'scripted' and were made under duress," Hontiveros said in a statement on Thursday.
The two witnesses, as well as the new ones who will come forward, must be protected to prevent any attempts to silence them.
"All law enforcement authorities and public officials who are behind these trumped-up charges must be identified, investigated upon, and held accountable under the law," she said. "There should be no cover-ups and no sacred cows."
Hontiveros also said the acts of former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II must be scrutinized. Ragos, a key witness in one of De Lima's cases, claimed that Aguirre and other officials "coerced" him into lying in his earlier affidavits.
'Nothing wrong with recanting lies'
De Lima said she sees nothing wrong with witnesses "recanting their lies" and speaking the truth.
“There are many things questionable about the cases against me. The recantation of witnesses is not one of them. If anything, this is the only thing that makes sense: it's proof that the truth will always come out," she said in a statement on May 3.
She wondered aloud why the justice department decided to keep her detained in Camp Crame, Quezon City, despite the recent developments. “Anyone can see how I am in no position to force anything from the witnesses against me."
Ragos, who was the Department of Justice's (DOJ) star witness, earlier admitted he was forced to execute affidavits against De Lima and her aide Ronnie Dayan, adding that he was threatened that he would be detained for illegal drug trading if he did not commit.
Espinosa, in a separate affidavit, said he was also coerced by law enforcers to make allegations against the senator.