Colanggo could not recall details on money delivery — De Lima lawyer

Convicted drug dealer Herbert Colanggo was unable to recall certain details while testifying during the resumption of one of the cases against former Senator Leila de Lima, the lawyer of the detained former lawmaker said Monday.

“Sa takbo ng kanyang testimonya ang napansin lang namin ay marami siyang hindi natatandaan, partikular na diyan kung ilang beses siya nagbigay, kailan siya nagbigay, at kung sino nagbigay,” Atty. Boni Tacardon said.

(During his testimony, we noticed that he could not remember a lot of details, particularly how many times he handed the money, when, and who did it.)

“Lagi lang niya sinasabi na busy siya kaya hindi niya matandaan ‘yung mga ‘yun, kaya hindi niya ma-recall,” he added.

(All he says is that he is busy so he could not remember these details, that’s why he could not recall them.)

For his part, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, Colanggo’s lawyer, said the account of Tacardon regarding Colanggo’s testimony was “self-serving.”

“[A]nd, to borrow the words of John Nance Garner, ‘isn't worth a bucket of warm spit.’ Mr. Colanggo has held up admirably under cross-examination and the major points of his testimony remain unrebutted and unimpeached,” he told GMA News Online.

“More than that, Mr. Colanggo, as well as almost a dozen other witnesses, will never retract their testimony,” he added.

GMA News Online has sought comment from Tacardon but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.

Meanwhile, according to Tacardon, this was important for De Lima as she is being accused of accepting millions of cash.

“[A]ng lumalabas lang na napimigay niya ay — kung totoo man yun, hindi namin sinasabing totoo — na umabot ng P45 million tapos may P18 million na hindi naman niya maipaliwanag sa amin kung kailan at paano napadala,” he said.

(It appears that he handed out — if it is true, we’re not saying it’s true — almost as much as P45 million and there was a P18 million that he could not explain to us on when and how he delivered them.)

He said no evidence was presented during the hearing.

“Wala, walang ebidensyang naipakita, naibigay,” he said.

(None, there was no evidence presented and given.)

Colanggo previously said that he remains a witness against De Lima. This was after former Deputy Director Rafael Ragos recanted his testimony against De Lima.

The government has filed three conspiracy to commit illegal drug trade charges against De Lima. Three charges were filed because the government alleges that she committed the same offense in different timeframes.

One of these charges was already dismissed by Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court in February 2021 due to weak evidence. De Lima has repeatedly denied involvement in the illegal drug trade. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News