Convicted armed robber and drug dealer Herbert Colanggo told a House panel that he spoke with Senator Leila de Lima in January 2014 as regards the millions of pesos he and his fellow inmates would pool together for he senatorial campaign.
Colanggo said he was tasked to come up with P3 million a month for the then secretary of justice.
He said he had been remitting money to De Lima since October 2013 through her security aide, Jonel Sanchez.
Colanggo said that he began collecting campaign money from fellow inmates after convicted kidnapper Jaybee Sebastian, who was also jailed at the NBP, approached him asking for his help in coming up with a sum for De Lima's campaign kitty.
"May P3 million kaming binibigay kay Secretary De Lima, buwan-buwan... Ikokolekta ko po sa area ko, P100,000, P200,000, may P500,000. So 'pag umabot ng P3 million... Iyon ang PR payola po," Colanggo said.
Colanggo during the hearing said he was better known as Herbert Colangco as he was often called the latter. It was also the name he used in his music videos from inside the prison.
Since he hasn't heard from De Lima since starting his remittance, Colanggo said he decided to ask Sanchez if he could speak with the then justice secretary to check if she had been getting the money.
Colanggo said Sanchez handed him his phone and let him dial De Lima's supposed number. The witness said he could tell the woman on the other end of the line was De Lima.
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"Iyong boses niya lagi ko siya napapanuod sa TV. Siya talaga iyon. Nabosesan ko siya... 100 percent [sure ako]," said Colanggo.
Colanggo said his conversation with De Lima was brief. He recounted asking De Lima over the phone, "Confirm ko lang po. Andito si Jonel, may instructions... Confirm ko lang na October 2013 kinukuha niya iyong P3 million."
De Lima, supposedly, answered: "Okay, okay. Thank you."
The senator has repeatedly denied any involvement in irregularities at the New Bilibid Prison.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who was conducting direct examination, told the House panel that his office had already secured a certification from Globe Telecoms confirming that the number provided by Colanggo was registered to De Lima.
Cebu Representative Gwendolyn Garcia offered to verify the number by calling up the number as listed in her own phonebook.
Source: GMA News Online
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