Palace on De Lima’s case: Let the law run its course

Malacañang on Wednesday said the public should let the law run its course with regards to the drug charges against reelectionist Senator Leila de Lima after several witnesses have retracted their testimonies against her.

“The case of Senator De Lima has nothing to do with her views with the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs or her affiliation to the political opposition,” acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said at a Palace briefing.

“It is in the courts right now. Let us simply let the law run its course,” he added.

Former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer in charge Rafael Ragos recently retracted his statement that he delivered bags of cash to De Lima from drug personalities inside the New Bilibid Prison. He claimed that he was threatened by then-Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre into making false allegations against her.

Meanwhile, self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa also recanted all of his allegations against De Lima, saying he was “coerced, pressured, intimidated and seriously threatened” by the police to implicate the senator.

For its part, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said the retracted statements of Ragos would not destroy the strength of evidence of the drug cases against De Lima and her former driver and bodyguard Ronnie Dayan.

The DOJ also said it will look into filing perjury complaints against Espinosa.

De Lima on Tuesday said the DOJ’s decision to keep her detained despite the recent developments has put into question the department’s “fidelity to justice.”

De Lima has been in detention since 2017 on drug-related charges. She has repeatedly denied the allegations against her.

INC endorsement

Meanwhile, the Palace welcomed the endorsement of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte who is vying for a vice presidential seat in the 2022 elections.

The Iglesia ni Cristo on Tuesday announced its endorsement of the candidacies of Duterte, her running mate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., and a dozen senators.

“As to the INC’s endorsement of former senator Marcos, we believe that his spokesman had already issued a statement,” Andanar said.