‘Convicts who linked Leila to drug trade won’t retract’

MANILA, Philippines -  The convicted drug lords who linked Sen. Leila de Lima to the illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) will not recant their testimonies, a lawyer said yesterday.

Ferdinand Topacio, counsel for witnesses in the drug cases against De Lima, said his clients have no plans to retract despite the Department of Justice’s order for the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to return the high-value inmates to the NBP’s maximum security compound.

Among Topacio’s clients are convicted drug lords Herbert Colangco and Noel Martinez.

Colangco and Martinez are being held at a facility controlled by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II had ordered BuCor officer-in-charge Rey Raagas to transfer the drug lords from the medium security compound to their original detention facility at the national penitentiary.

Among those who were transferred to the medium security compound were Vicente Sy, Jojo Baligad and Peter Co – three of the key witnesses in the drug trafficking cases against De Lima.

Topacio said the inmates stand firm on their earlier testimonies against the senator.

“While they do not want to be transferred back to the maximum security compound, there is no plan to recant. They said someone is feeding Secretary Aguirre with wrong information,” he said.

Topacio believes that the information about the witnesses’ supposed plan to recant their statements could be part of a plot to weaken the cases against De Lima.