De Lima on DOJ decision to continue her prosecution: Frustrating but not at all surprising

Detained Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday slammed the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to continue the prosecution of her drug cases, saying it’s "frustrating but no longer surprising."

In a statement, De Lima said outgoing Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra’s decision to adopt the position of the DOJ Panel of Prosecutors to push through with the prosecution even though some witnesses took back their testimonies in the drug cases against her is “plainly a safe and nonchalant gesture” and a “Pontius Pilate act.”

“It is devoid of any effort to dig deeper in the wider scheme of things behind my persecution by Duterte. It is nothing but a worthless, unsubstantial table review,” the outgoing senator said in a statement.

“Frustrating but not at all surprising or unexpected. I guess it was wishful thinking to expect anything different from Sec. Guevarra. Regrettably, it is still a Pontius Pilate act when he simply relied on the so-called ‘assessment’ of the very panel of prosecutors handling the cases,” she added.

De Lima cast doubt on Guevarra’s supposed assessment of the affidavit of Rafael Ragos where the latter claimed that “it was all made up lies and forced upon” him by former Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre.

“Did he even confront the panel of prosecutors as to the truth of Ragos’s accusations against them?” she asked.

“One thing is clear. Up to the end of his term, Sec. Guevarra is minded to stand by the lies and manufactured evidence of the Duterte government, not wanting to displease his principal. He is, after all, Duterte’s alter ego. Never mind justice. Never mind fair play. Never mind that an innocent person was kept in jail for the past 5 years, and counting, without real evidence except the lies of mostly convicted felons. Never mind the Truth,” she quipped.

De Lima lamented that the department which she previously headed has “failed in its foremost, noble task to protect the innocent.”

On Tuesday, Guevarra said the DOJ prosecution panel took the position that the recantations had no probative value until the said individuals were presented in court for examination to ascertain their truthfulness.

Ragos, a former officer in charge of the Bureau of Corrections who testified against De Lima has retracted his statement, claiming that he was threatened by Aguirre into making false allegations against her.

Ragos apologized to De Lima for testifying against her and said she should be cleared of the drug charges, for which she has been detained since February 2017.

In 2016, Ragos told a Senate hearing that he delivered, along with aide Jovencio Ablen Jr., P5 million in proceeds from the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison 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.

Self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa also retracted all of his allegations against the senator, but the Prosecutor General said that his statement has no bearing on the case against her.

Marcelo Adorco, Espinosa's supposed bodyguard and driver, also recanted all his allegations against him and other personalities, including the senator.

Meanwhile, convicted drug dealer Herbert Colangco insisted that he would not withdraw his statements against the senator.

De Lima, a fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte and his deadly war on drugs, was jailed in 2017 on allegations that she was part of the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison during her stint as Justice secretary under Benigno S. Aquino's administration.—AOL, GMA News