Ex-witness in De Lima case transferred to NBP

The former prosecution witness, who recently expressed his desire to recant his allegations against detained former Senator Leila de Lima, has been transferred to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said Tuesday.

In a statement, BuCor said the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 206 granted Rodolfo Magleo’s request to be temporarily detained at the NBP’s minimum security compound.

BuCor said Magleo was transferred to the NBP on Monday night.

The agency said the court also ordered the transfer of Nonito Arile, another witness who recanted his allegations, to the court.

According to De Lima’s lawyers, Magleo was initially supposed to be presented as a prosecution witness during Monday’s hearing, but he approached De Lima with a letter before the hearing started.

The letter stated that he and Arile were “recanting our testimonies” with the object of helping De Lima be set free. Following this, Magleo was no longer presented as a witness by the prosecution.

De Lima has been detained in Camp Crame since February 2017 over drug allegations. She has repeatedly denied the allegations against her.

Her first acquittal came in February 2021 when the Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 205 junked one of her three cases.

On May 12, the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 acquitted De Lima and Ronnie Dayan, her co-accused and former bodyguard, of an illegal drug trading charge on the grounds of reasonable doubt. —VAL, GMA Integrated News