Umali assures Ronnie Dayan: You’re a free man after House testimony

Ronnie Dayan, former driver and bodyguard of Sen. Leila de Lima, can walk out a "free man" after his scheduled testimony at the House of Representatives on Thursday.

Oriental Mindoro Reynaldo Umali, chair of the House justice committee, said his panel has scheduled to re-open on Thursday morning its investigation on the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison, in light of Dayan's arrest.

The House committee has repeatedly invited Dayan to its inquiry but to no avail, forcing lawmakers to cite him in contempt and order his arrest.

The police earlier clarified that Dayan, who was presented to the media late Tuesday afternoon without handcuffs, is not being considered as a common criminal.

"He is a free man [after tomorrow's hearing]. Kaya lang naman siya na-issue-han ng warrant [of arrest] kasi hindi siya sumipot [sa previous hearings namin]," Umali said during a media briefing.

"Kapag na-serve na niya ang purpose niya which is to answer questions from the House, he's a free man... unless there is a warrant of arrest from court," added Umali.

The lawmaker expressed hope that Dayan wold "come to his senses and tell all."

"Remember, uncontroverted lahat ng sinabi ni Dayan kaya to be fair to De lima, we would like to listen to him [so he] may enlighten the committee on the whole picture and totality of the drug trade proliferation," said Umali.

Umali said if he could have his way, he would rather finish the hearing in one day. "Pero wishful thinking iyon," he added.

Umali admitted Dayan's testimony would seem "anti-climactic" because the House plenary has already approved the justice committee's report on its investigation on the national penitentiary last month.

In its 17-page committee report, the panel said it "clearly established" the proliferation of drug syndicates and illegal drugs inside the national penitentiary when De Lima was secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ). 

The panel, however, admitted that the determination of probable cause to support the filing of charges against her was a function reserved to the DOJ or the Office of the Ombudsman. 

The panel also admitted that it was "not clearly established" whether Dayan's participation in the drug trade was on order of De Lima or on his own.

The committee conducted four days of hearings running for 47 hours, with 22 witnesses, mostly convicted criminals, taking the stand.

With Dayan earlier snubbing its inquiry, the House justice committee eventually formed a sub-committee to conduct further investigation on other matters that were touched during the original probe, including Dayan's alleged involvement. 

Several convicts jailed at the New Bilibid Prison earlier testified before a House justice panel inquiry that Dayan collected drug money from drug lords and other inmates for De Lima's campaign kitty. 

De Lima has repeatedly denied any involvement in the illegal drug trade as well as receiving any drug money. — RSJ, GMA News