THE Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) on Tuesday filed a drug-trafficking complaint against Sen. Leila M. de Lima and seven others before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Also named as respondents in the 65-page complaint were former Justice Undesecretary Francisco Baraan III, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Franklin Bucayu, de Lima’s former bodyguard and alleged paramour Ronnie Dayan, her former security aides Joenel Sanchez and Jose Adrian Dera, convicted drug-lord Jaybee Sebastian and Wilfredo Ely, alleged bagman of Bucayu.
The VACC, through its Chairman Emeritus Dante Jimenez, specifically charged the respondents with violation of Section 5, in relation to Section 26 (b) of Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
The said provisions prohibit the “sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of any dangerous drug or controlled precursor and essential chemical or both.”
Under the said law, the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine, ranging from P500,000 to P10 million, shall be imposed to any person who will be found guilty of the offense.
The complaint was filed in connection with allegations that de Lima, in conspiracy with the other respondents, benefited from the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) during her term as justice secretary.
Jimenez accused the respondents of involvement in the illegal-drugs trade inside and outside the NBP from 2012 to 2016.
“Respondents Senator de Lima, Bucayu, Dayan, Sanchez, Jose Adrian Dera and Jaybee were able to conspire with one another in perpetuating a massive drug trade inside the Bilibid through the influence and power exercised by the Office of the Secretary of Justice, through then-Secretary de Lima,” the complaint read.
It added that de Lima used her authority to appoint and designate men inside the Bilibid in order to ensure the ease of illegal-drugs transactions in the said prison facility.
On the other hand, the VACC said Sebastian acted as one of the lieutenants of de Lima and Baraan in seeing to it that drug lords inside the prison comply with the demand to trade drugs.
The group accused Dayan and Sanchez of being the bagmen of de Lima, who were responsible in collecting the drug money from Sebastian.
The VACC used as basis the testimonies given by convicted inmates, led by Herbert Colanggo, during the hearing of the House Committee on Justice on proliferation of the illegal drugs inside the NBP.
The VACC noted that Colanggo and several other witnesses were able to give details on how the illegal-drugs trade was being conducted inside the NBP upon the protection and intervention of de Lima, with the help of the other respondents.
Colanggo also testified that he started giving money to de Lima through Sanchez from October 2013, allegedly for her campaign fund, amounting to P3 million until the so-called 19 high-profile inmates, including him, were transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation in December 2014 to pave the way for Sebastian taking control of drugs operation in the NBP, allegedly with the blessing of de Lima.
The VACC said the transfer of the so-called Bilibid 19 was “calculated, planned and premeditated” in order to concentrate the drug trade under the control of Sebastian and de Lima.
The group added that de Lima has motive to allow the proliferation of illegal drugs in the NBP, which was to gather funds for her senatorial bid.
Prior to the 2013 midterm elections, the VACC said de Lima was reported to have spent P86.15 million.
“For all the advertisement she contracted during the election campaign, where would she get the money from? One could not turn a blind eye on her actual source of fund. She had generous benefactors from inside the Bilibid. This explains why she never had second thoughts in running for one of the highest political positions in the country,” the complaint said.
The VACC also questioned the reason de Lima undertook the raids at the NBP excluding Philippine National Police (PNP) Deputy Chief for Operations Director Benjamin Magalong, the original proponent of the operation dubbed as “Oplan Cronus.”
It added that it is also questionable that de Lima ordered the transfer of the 19 high-profile inmates to the NBI, but excluded Sebastian, a known top drug lord, and make numerous personal visits at the NBP and even at the kubols of high-profile inmates at the NBP, prior and after the December 2014 raids.
“Each one of them had played significant roles in order to ensure the perpetuation of the illegal-drugs trade inside the Bilibid. Senator de Lima, through her authority, as the secretary of justice, was able to put in position her cohorts at the BuCor to enable her to maneuver the drug trade,” the complaint said.
“Her influence and power, likewise, offered respondents, in this case, shield and protection to ensure the invisibility in the conduct of their illegal trade; in this same manner that she was also able to eliminate the competitors of Jaybee inside the prison by having them transferred to the NBI,” it added.
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