Convicts jailed in the New Bilibid Prison may not be that credible in linking Sen. Leila de Lima to alleged bribery using drug money when she was justice secretary, but two officials of the National Bureau of Investigation could be a different case.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said this Tuesday as he said he finds the testimonies of NBI deputy director Rafael Ragos and agent Jovencio Ablen Jr. credible.
“I will take very seriously the testimonies of Deputy Director Ragos and NBI agent Ablen. Sila naman especially Ragos, because he claims to be very close to the family of Sen. de Lima. And there’s no reason for him to lie and implicate Sen de Lima. Sinabi naman niya yan sa kanyang statement, I read his statement as well as supplemental. Nagko-corroborate naman sa iba,” Lacson said.
He referred to Ragos and Ablen’s testimonies that they delivered supposed bribe money to de Lima at her house at least twice.
Lacson also said that when Ragos decided to execute his affidavit, he was “very reluctant” as he is a close family friend of de Lima, hailing from Bicol.
“It’s not for me to judge. Unang una di kami nag-conduct ng hearing. Nag-assess lang ako based on the testimonies we all heard. And kayo rin I think you can draw your conclusions from a very objective perspective. I know more or less meron kayong conclusion kung meron bang semblance of truth ang sinasabi ng mga nag-testify o wala. Ako I happen to be privy to some testimonies of the witnesses,” he said.
Lacson also downplayed claims that Ragos has an axe to grind against de Lima, saying Ragos was prompted to testify when he learned Ablan was about to testify and that he was being implicated.
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