‘Leila got cash from Kerwin’
Dayan nabbed in La Union, pins down Leila
URBIZTONDO, Pangasinan – After a six-hour chase over hills and across rivers, police officers sent to arrest Ronnie Dayan finally found him sitting alone and bedraggled, waiting for them under the shade of a tree in the middle of farmland before noon yesterday in San Juan, La Union.
The former driver of Sen. Leila de Lima and her alleged bagman in the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) reportedly broke down upon seeing his wife and son as well as other relatives who came to witness his arrest.
Last night at the House of Representatives, he admitted receiving an unspecified amount of money from alleged Albuera drug kingpin Kerwin Espinosa fives times and personally giving it to De Lima in 2014, “before she decided to run for the Senate.” But Dayan denied using or selling drugs or knowing other alleged drug traffickers.
Second district board member Raul Sison told The STAR the arrest was actually a surrender arranged by his son, Mayor Martin Raul Sison II, and Dayan’s sister Barangay Galarin kagawad Tita Torreta.
Dayan was first brought to Camp Diego Silang in San Fernando in preparation for his transfer to Camp Crame in Quezon City.
At Malacañang, Communications Assistant Secretary Marie Banaag said they hope the arrest of Dayan “would lead to the uncovering of truth in the proliferation of drugs in Bilibid and for the guilty to be punished.”
Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa presented Dayan to members of the media at the lobby of the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame early last night.
“He is willing to tell all during the hearing at the House,” Dela Rosa said. “He was hiding in the mountains, in Sitio Bato, San Gabriel, La Union. There was a long chase that literally took our operatives to the mountain. He tried to hide in a river but there was no letup in the chase until he was cornered in San Felipe,” he said in Filipino.
“He ( Dayan) is going to be a friendly witness in the Congress hearing,” said the PNP chief.
“We do not exert undue duress or pressure to him,” he added.
Dayan was not in handcuffs when presented to media.
“He is free as a bird and we made sure he has bulletproof protection. What’s important is he is safe,” Dela Rosa said.
He added the PNP has yet to get the affidavit of Dayan, who will be turned over to the House of Representatives, which issued the warrant for his arrest.
“He will be accorded all his rights, including right to have counsel of (his) own choice,” Dela Rosa added.
15-km chase
Chief Supt. Gregorio Pimentel, Ilocos region police director, said his men spent several sleepless nights going after Dayan. He maintained Dayan’s arrest – at 11:55 a.m. – was “a product of one month and 12 days of continuous police operations.”
He said the chase covered over 15 kilometers.
Dayan said he was suffering from arthritis acquired while in hiding, since his daily diet consisted mainly of string beans.
Dela Rosa also belied reports they were pressuring Dayan into linking Vice President Leni Robredo to the illegal drug trade.
Dayan said the last time he spoke with De Lima was shortly after the May elections. “She thanked me for my contribution to her election victory,” he said, adding he posted campaign materials for her.
He refused to answer when asked if he had contributed money to De Lima’s campaign.
Days before Dayan’s arrest, some members of the media received text information about his supposed apprehension at Trinoma in Quezon City. It was the same information that linked Robredo to the drug trade.
Sison, meanwhile, said they made sure Dayan was safe when local police led by Chief Insp. Joshua Maximo coordinated with the provincial police led by Senior Supt. Ronald Lee in fetching Dayan.
“We have an agreement they would take full responsibility for Dayan’s security so his surrender was arranged,” he pointed out.
Police, he said, cornered Dayan in Sitio Turod, Barangay San Felipe, San Juan, La Union at around 11:30 a.m.
As soon as Dayan saw a police car and several other vehicles, he immediately raised his hands and removed his hat in a gesture of surrender, Sison said.
The official said they immediately got out of their vehicles and ran toward him. “It’s as if we were running after a chicken as we all ran fast toward him,” he said.
“He did not resist arrest,” Sison said.
He said he noticed Dayan had significantly lost weight when he tried to frisk him for weapons.
“If you press Ronnie’s body, it’s like cotton, he became very thin and dehydrated,” he said.
“When I embraced him, in case he would be shot, the bullet would first hit me before Ronnie. I really assumed the responsibility for Ronnie,” he added. “Kuya, wala akong baril (Brother, I have no gun),” Sison quoted Dayan as telling him.
The House committee on justice had ordered Dayan’s arrest for contempt for his failure to attend congressional hearings on the alleged drug trade at the NBP. At the center of the investigation was De Lima, for whom Dayan had reportedly acted as bagman.
De Lima admitted on national television that she and Dayan had been lovers.
Wasted
The board member said Dayan looked pale and bedraggled and was only in slippers.
“He was very unenergetic, it seems he was not eating. He has empty pocket, tired and dirty and crying upon seeing his family,” Sison added.
Dayan reportedly has a brother in Bacnotan, La Union but Sison said he had been living like a recluse – possibly because he wanted to spare his loved ones from unwanted public attention.
Sison said he and many others were surprised by Dayan’s alleged drug links.
The official said that after being wrongly included in President Duterte’s so-called drug matrix, he and his son decided to do everything to make Dayan surrender.
Also mistakenly included in the drug matrix was another Pangasinan politician, Rep. Amado Espino Jr.
He scored Dayan’s relatives for claiming no knowledge of his whereabouts. “I hope with his surrender, the truth will come out,” Sison said.
The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption earlier put up a P1-million reward, while a Pangasinan businessman also pledged P100,000 for any information that would lead to Dayan’s arrest.
Dayan and De Lima used to spend weekend vacations in a big house in Galarin, Urbiztondo.
State witness
Now in police custody, Dayan may be tapped as state witness in the NBP drug trade probe, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said.
“Yes, it’s very possible,” he replied when asked if Dayan could be covered by the DOJ’s witness protection program.
Aguirre explained that just like drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, Dayan would have to first spill the beans and submit a tell-all affidavit to qualify as state witness.
“It is a chance for Mr. Dayan to clear his name, so we encourage him to tell the whole truth of what he knows,” he stressed.
Aguirre, however, clarified that should Dayan decide to cooperate with authorities and divulge vital information about the drug trade at the NBP, the DOJ would still have to evaluate his qualifications.
“Under the rules, he should not be the most guilty – not necessarily the least guilty among the accused or respondents – in the offense charged for him to qualify in the WPP,” he stressed.
The DOJ chief said he believes Dayan could be a very vital witness in the drug cases as he could “tie up the loose ends and supply the missing links in the cases before the DOJ.”
Dayan is among the respondents in the drug traffi charges filed with the DOJ by the National Bureau of Investigation, its former deputy directors Ruel Lasala and Reynaldo Esmeralda and the VACC against De Lima and other former officials.
He is accused of collecting millions from the inmates to fund De Lima’s senatorial bid in the May 2016 elections.
Earlier, Aguirre said the admission by De Lima in a TV interview that she had an affair with Dayan could bolster the drug charges against them, as it confirmed the statement of witnesses that the driver was powerful as “common- law husband” of the then DOJ secretary.
The investigating panel of DOJ prosecutors has set the first hearing for Dec. 2 at 1 p.m.
At the House of Representatives, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said the hearings on the NBP drug trade would resume with Dayan’s arrest.
“That’s good news. He (Dayan) should be brought to the House committee on justice,” Alvarez said, adding that Dayan – a former military man – should also be brought to his office as he was the one who issued a warrant for his arrest.
“He will have to be brought before the Speaker who issued a warrant for his arrest, and will testify before the committee on justice,” the Davao del Norte congressman maintained.
This was echoed by House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas.
House Deputy Speakers Raneo Abu and Fredenil Castro also hinted at reopening the probe.
“We support the call to reopen the New Bilibid Prison drug probe. The arrest of Dayan is a welcome development to solve the missing link behind the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the NBP,” Batangas Rep. Abu said.
For his part, Castro said the House committee on justice headed by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali would have to reopen its probe, since the panel “has already closed the investigation subject to the condition that upon the arrest of Dayan…it (House probe) will reopen. Therefore the possibility is that there will be a reopening of the investigation of the NBP drug trafficking,” the congressman from Capiz disclosed.
Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting commended the police for a job well done. “It’s about time. There is warrant for his arrest issued more than a month ago. Let’s just make sure to observe due process and secure his person.”
Who gets the P1 M?
Meanwhile, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said there is a need for authorities to spell out clearly if Dayan had been arrested or had surrendered so they would know to whom the P1 million would be given. Topacio was among the individuals who raised the P1-million reward money for Dayan’s arrest.
“We will coordinate with the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) and Gen. ( Benjamin) Magalong (PNP deputy director for operations) to determine where the reward money will go,” he told The STAR by phone.
Topacio represents the VACC in the drug trafficking charges against De Lima and Dayan in the DOJ.
He said that while there were conflicting reports on how Dayan finally ended up in police custody, what’s important was the prospect of his finally spilling the beans on the NBP drug trade. – With Edu Punay, Delon Porcalla, Jess Diaz, Jun Elias