Drop charges vs. de Lima, release her from custody, HRW calls on Philippine gov't

International organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called on Philippine authorities to drop the charges filed against Senator Leila de Lima, release her from custody, and conduct a probe into allegations witnesses were coerced to give their testimony.

“Senator Leila de Lima has suffered five years in detention for an alleged crime that key witnesses now dispute,” HRW deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said.

“The authorities should immediately drop the politically motivated charges and release her, and impartially investigate the witnesses’ claims that they were coerced to give false testimony," he added.

HRW made the call after two key witnesses — self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa and former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos — recanted their testimony saying de Lima received money from the alleged illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). De Lima has repeatedly denied the charges.

“Senator de Lima should be included among the casualties of President Duterte’s catastrophic ‘drug war,’” Robertson added.

“The senator’s imprisonment is among the low points of Duterte’s presidency, and the thousands of families still suffering from his punitive policies would doubtlessly welcome her release," he said.

De Lima, a fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte and his deadly war on drugs, was jailed in February 2017 on allegations that she was part of the illegal drug trade inside the NBP during her stint as Justice secretary under Benigno  Aquino III's administration. 

In a series of Senate hearings in 2016, Espinosa accused De Lima of receiving a total of P8 million from him for her senatorial campaign through her former driver and security aide Ronnie Dayan.

However, in a counter-affidavit subscribed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday, April 28, 2022, Espinosa disowned his sworn statements during the Senate joint committee hearings on the killing of his father Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., saying he was “coerced, pressured, intimidated and seriously threatened” by the police to implicate de Lima.

Ragos meanwhile told a Senate hearing in 2016 that he delivered, along with aide Jovencio Ablen Jr., P5 million in proceeds from the illegal drug trade inside the NBP to De Lima's house in Parañaque City in 2012.

He also testified then that the kickbacks came from Peter Co and other drug lords to support De Lima's senatorial bid in 2013.

De Lima, who appointed Ragos OIC of BuCor in 2012, denied the allegations.

In a recent interview, Ragos apologized to De Lima for testifying against her and said she should be cleared of the drug charges.

Ragos retracted his statement, claiming that he was threatened by then-Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre into making false allegations against her.

The former BuCor official recanted his testimony in an affidavit signed in Pasig City on April 30, 2022. 

De Lima on Monday said she appreciated the recent developments, hoping that others will follow the steps of the two key witnesses.

“Five years too late but still appreciated. Sana makonsensya na rin lahat ng nasangkot sa gawa-gawang kaso laban sa akin. Patuloy po ang laban natin para sa katotohanan at hustisya,” she said in a tweet.

(Five years too late but still appreciated. I hope those who were involved in lodging trumped up charges against me will follow their conscience. We will continue the fight for the truth and justice.)

In a statement issued Tuesday, De Lima said the retraction of witnesses of their allegations against her is proof that the truth would always come out.

She also said the DOJ’s decision to keep her detained despite the recent developments has put into question the department’s “fidelity to justice.”

“Anyone can see how I am in no position to force anything from the witnesses against me,” De Lima said.

The senator, 62, has been in detention since 2017 at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center.

Meanwhile, the DOJ said it was looking into filing perjury complaints against Espinosa.

Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento, on the other hand, said Espinosa's retraction has no bearing on the cases lodged against De Lima.

Malcontento pointed out that Espinosa is not a witness in the case against De Lima.

In 2009, de Lima, as chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, launched an investigation into extrajudicial killings in Davao City, where Duterte served as mayor for a long time.

In 2016, de Lima also chaired a Senate investigation into the Duterte administration's war on drugs and the alleged extrajudicial killings of drug suspects. —KG, GMA News