Hontiveros: Inquiry needed to see if other witnesses vs De Lima were coerced
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros wants an inquiry to verify the statements of other witnesses who testified against detained lawmaker Leila De Lima, after two witnesses recanted their allegations against the latter.
Re-electionist Hontiveros, who has the backing of opposition coalition 1Sambayan as well as the Makabayan Bloc at the House of Representatives, also said that all officials behind what she called the trumped-up charges against De Lima must be brought to justice.
This comes around a week after former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos and self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa retracted their testimonies pointing to De Lima's supposed involvement in the illegal drug trade.
Ragos is a witnees in an ongoing drug case against De Lima, who has said that the allegations against her are motivated by politics.
"An inquiry must be made to check, if similar to Ragos and Espinosa, the testimonies of other witnesses against Sen. Leila were merely 'scripted' and were made under duress," Hontiveros said in a statement on Thursday.
The two witnesses, as well as the new ones who will come forward, must be protected to prevent any attempts to silence them.
"All law enforcement authorities and public officials who are behind these trumped-up charges must be identified, investigated upon, and held accountable under the law," she said. "There should be no cover-ups and no sacred cows."
Hontiveros also said the acts of former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II must be scrutinized. Ragos, a key witness in one of De Lima's cases, claimed that Aguirre and other officials "coerced" him into lying in his earlier affidavits.
'Nothing wrong with recanting lies'
De Lima said she sees nothing wrong with witnesses "recanting their lies" and speaking the truth.
“There are many things questionable about the cases against me. The recantation of witnesses is not one of them. If anything, this is the only thing that makes sense: it's proof that the truth will always come out," she said in a statement on May 3.
She wondered aloud why the justice department decided to keep her detained in Camp Crame, Quezon City, despite the recent developments. “Anyone can see how I am in no position to force anything from the witnesses against me."
Ragos, who was the Department of Justice's (DOJ) star witness, earlier admitted he was forced to execute affidavits against De Lima and her aide Ronnie Dayan, adding that he was threatened that he would be detained for illegal drug trading if he did not commit.
Espinosa, in a separate affidavit, said he was also coerced by law enforcers to make allegations against the senator.
The DOJ insisted, however, that Ragos' move to recant his statements will not "at this stage destroy the strength of evidence of the case against De Lima and Dayan."
DOH pointed out the "glaring delay" of Ragos in recanting his statements five years after he testified in the Senate hearing and three years after he testified in court.
US senators call for De Lima's release
De Lima welcomed the renewed calls of six US senators who pushed for her immediate release and the dropping of charges against her.
She thanked U.S senators Marco Rubio, Ed Markey, Dick Durbin, Marsha Blackburn, Chris Coons and Patrick Leahy whom she said vouched for her innocence.
The six lawmakers released a joint statement in May 3 calling for her prompt release.
"Clearly, the bogus charges against her were, as we suspected all along, politically-motivated and based on false information," they said.
De Lima's allies, including presidential bet Vice President Leni Robredo, also repeated their calls for her freedom.
"This is proof of what I’ve long been insisting: There is no case against Sen. Leila de Lima. Her only sin is telling the truth and protecting the rights of our fellow Filipinos," Robredo said in a statement in Filipino.
Robredo's running mate Sen. Kiko Pangilinan and lawyer Chel Diokno, who is running for senator, also made similar calls for De Lima's release.
Meanwhile, non-governmental organization Amnesty International Philippines renewed its call to free De Lima, whom they described as a "victim of political persecution, targeted and singled out by the Duterte administration for her legitimate work as a human rights defender and duly-elected legislator.”
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