Drilon: No evidence so far linking Duterte to De Lima’s cases

There is no evidence at present that will link former president Rodrigo Duterte to the drug charges filed against former senator Leila de Lima, former Senate President Franklin Drilon said Tuesday.

Drilon stressed that filing cases against Duterte, who is now a private citizen, is impossible as there is no evidence to link him to the alleged politically motivated charges against De Lima.

"Right now, there is no evidence that former president Duterte induced and directed the filing of these unfounded charges," Drilon said in a television interview.

De Lima, a staunch critic of Duterte's controversial war on drugs, was released from prison on Monday after being detained for nearly seven years after a Muntinlupa court granted her petition to post bail on her remaining drug charge.

De Lima is accused of pocketing payoffs from drug lords when she was still the Justice secretary allegedly to raise money for her 2016 senatorial bid.

Since 2017, two of the three illegal drug charges filed against De Lima have been dismissed following the recantations of witnesses in the respective cases.

Aguirre in trouble

Drilon, however, noted that former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre III may be charged with perjury for allegedly forcing a witness to testify against De Lima.

"Right now, the evidence is against former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre because of the statement of Ragos," he said, referring to former Bureau of Corrections director Rafael Ragos.

Ragos was a principal witness in one of De Lima's drug cases. Last year, he recanted his testimony that implicated De Lima in the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison, saying he was forced by then-Justice chief Vitaliano Aguirre III in 2015 to sign an affidavit implicating De Lima and her former security aide, Ronnie Dayan, in the illegal drug trade in Bilibid.