Police authorities have served subpoenas on two persons linked
to Sen. Leila de Lima after the House of Representatives’ committee on
justice summoned them to attend the public hearing on the alleged drug
trafficking operations in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
Senior Supt. Ronald Oliver Lee, Pangasinan police officer-in-charge, told reporters yesterday that the summons were received by relatives of former Department of Justice (DOJ) undersecretary Francisco Baraan III and Ronnie Dayan, former driver of De Lima.
According to Lee, the House committee on justice sought police assistance to serve the summons, both of which were received last Oct. 1.
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Rep. Reynaldo Umali, chairman of the committee on justice, signed the subpoenas.
The subpoena for Baraan was received by his brother, former Pangasinan provincial administrator Rafael Baraan, while that for Dayan was received by his sister, Elmita Torreta.
That the subpoena for Dayan was served by the police in Barangay Galarin, Urbiztondo town, said Lee. However, Lee said they have not seen Dayan in the area for the past weeks.
Both Baraan and Dayan were ordered to attend the inquiry at the House today and on Oct. 7 and were also directed to submit their sworn statement regarding the matter on or before Oct. 3.
The names of Baraan and Dayan were included in an alleged drug matrix recently made public by President Duterte.
The House will resume today its hearing on the alleged proliferation of drugs inside the NBP in Muntinlupa City during the time of former justice secretary De Lima.
The justice committee headed by Umali is also expected to hear the 10 or so witnesses to be presented by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II who will reportedly testify that De Lima directly received millions in bribes from them.
Umali told reporters during the plenary debates on the DOJ budget that they have lined up their witnesses who will testify on their first-hand knowledge about De Lima’s links to drug lords inside the national penitentiary.
The President and Aguirre have stated that De Lima’s senatorial campaign last May was bankrolled by convicts inside the prison facility, and whose link is convicted kidnapper Jaybee Sebastian who raised the funds for her, with the help of other drug lords.
De Lima has repeatedly denied this, while Sebastian didn’t confirm nor deny, except to say he was willing to testify but only with regard to anomalies of the NBP’s catering business.
According to Sebastian’s lawyer, his client wanted to talk to Duterte, but the latter flatly rejected this.
Speaker Alvarez earlier promised that the House would perform its mandate of lawmaking and do away with public perception that it has always been a wrecking tool of every administration against its perceived enemies.
Alvarez advised Umali to come up with a draft bill.
De Lima said she is ready to forgive those whom she said were forced to testify against her.
In a press conference following a forum at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) yesterday, the senator said the witnesses who tagged her have various reasons for testifying, including being intimidated or blackmailed.
Source: Philippine Star
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