EDITORIAL - Come out and tell your story

Citing “frailties of a woman,” Sen. Leila de Lima finally admitted the other night that she had a long-running affair with her former driver-bodyguard Ronnie Dayan, which ended only when she was about to seek a Senate seat.

What she denied was the accusation that she bought Dayan a large house and lot in his home province. She also denied that Dayan raised millions for her election campaign from certain high-value inmates at the New Bilibid Prison who are said to be running large-scale drug trafficking operations from within the NBP. One of the prisoners, Jaybee Sebastian, testified before the Senate that he raised P10 million from drug deals and gave the money to De Lima.

The senator denied that Dayan was her bagman. But Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said De Lima’s admission of the affair bolstered the cases against her for corruption and protection of drug trafficking.

It would help De Lima’s defense if Dayan surfaced. In this country, flight is generally seen as an admission of guilt. Now that De Lima has admitted their affair, Dayan should have nothing to fear if that is the only issue he is trying to evade. And if he is innocent of the charges that he collected money from drug dealers at the NBP, the best way to prove it is by surfacing and telling the nation what he knows.

If he fears for his safety in case he surfaces, there is also no guarantee that he will be safe as a fugitive. In this time of “shoot-on-sight” orders, he can be considered a legitimate target if he tries to evade arrest.

De Lima has maintained her innocence, and Dayan can be among her best witnesses. It is in her interest to have him surface and answer the accusations against him. People who believe in the innocence of De Lima and Dayan can help keep them from harm. It is time for Dayan to tell the nation his story.