Alvarez: De Lima liable for sexual harassment over Dayan link

Senator Leila De Lima is liable for sexual harassment for allegedly ordering her driver and bodyguard, Ronnie Dayan, to receive money on her behalf from suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said Monday.

In a press conference, Alvarez expressed his belief that Dayan is the aggrieved party in the controversy surrounding him and De Lima.

“Sino ba ang na-agrabyado dito? Sa tingin ko si Ronnie Dayan, kasi nagamit sya eh. Ginamit sya. Pinatanggap sya ng mga drug money, ginawa naman niya,” he said.

Alvarez said De Lima’s defenders, who claim she is being harassed by the House by prying into the private details of her life, should have also thought about Dayan’s wife and the senator’s possible abuse of her power over her former employee.

Addressing De Lima’s supporters, he said: “Ito ang tanong ko sa kanila, bakit hindi nila kinonsider yung asawa ni Ronnie Dayan? Babae yun! Sa tingin ko siya yung agrabyado dito. Yung paggamit ng mga subordinates mo, 'di ba sexual harassment yun? Babae lang ba 'yung nase-sexual harassment dito? Bakit, susunod ba 'yun kung hindi niya subordinate yung mga yun?”

During his testimony before the House justice committee last Nov. 24, Dayan admitted to receiving money from suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa for De Lima five times in 2014.

He also confessed to having an affair with the senator for seven years, beginning 2007.

Despite his belief about De Lima’s liability for sexual harassment, Alvarez said he is leaving it up to the Department of Justice to pursue cases against her. —JST, GMA News