Ragos to de Lima: ‘I am really sorry’

“I am really sorry.”

This was what former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos said to former Senator Leila de Lima on Friday when they accidentally met after the resumption of the hearing on the remaining drug-related charges filed against the ex-legislator at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC).

Ragos, among the witnesses who testified against de Lima on the said charges, attended the hearing after the Muntinlupa court affirmed its order allowing him to again testify and recant his allegations against the former lawmaker.

In May, Ragos recanted his allegation that he, along with aide Jovencio Ablen Jr., delivered millions of pesos in proceeds from the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison to de Lima's house in Parañaque City in 2012.

De Lima, who appointed Ragos officer-in-charge of the Bureau of Corrections during her term as justice secretary, has insisted that she was never involved in the illegal drug trade.

Ragos was one of the three witnesses who retracted their statements against de Lima. The other witnesses were convicted murderer Joel Capones and drug personality Kerwin Espinosa.

De Lima has been detained since February 2017 for allegedly abetting the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison during her stint as justice secretary from 2010 to 2015.

One of her three cases was dismissed by a Muntinlupa court but two remaining charges are still pending.

She marked her 2000th day in detention on August 16, 2022. — DVM, GMA Integrated News