No love tragedy

“A member of the panel said the testimonies of Dayan have the effect of shielding both him and De Lima from being pinned as the main characters in the NBP drugs trade.

Prosecutors should not fall into the trap of romanticizing the suspected drug trafficking partnership between detained Sen. Leila de Lima and her former bagman, driver and lover Ronnie Dayan. Dayan is more than the ignorant beau of De Lima that he is being made to appear.

Those who wanted to weaken the charges of drug trafficking and syndicated operations in turning the maximum security penitentiary New Bilibid Prison (NBP) into a narcotics factory and distribution center during the previous administration need only to divert the focus on the lovers angle and the salacious details of the De Lima-Dayan affair.

Dayan during his court appearance last Thursday reinforced the suspicion that he is aiming to weaken the case against De Lima in refusing to testify against the senator in his disobedience to a summons case, citing his right against self-incrimination and right not to be compelled to serve as a witness.

His reason: “I did not know that I would be made a prosecution witness. I cannot testify against the senator because we have the same case.”

Dayan would have recounted the reason behind De Lima’s advice for him not to attend the House probe on the NBP drugs operations.

The House inquiry and Dayan’s testimonies provide strong evidence that he was an interested partner in running the NBP drugs network and was not merely following orders from De Lima.

For instance, he reluctantly admitted that the postings of former Bureau of Corrections heads Rafael Ragos and Franklin Bucayu were through his recommendation.

It was under Ragos and Bucayu that the drugs trade inside the NBP proliferated. Ragos, who also became National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director under De Lima, wrote an affidavit indicating that he delivered P5 million to the residence of the former justice secretary twice.

The testimonies of NBP inmates also pointed to the collusion between both supposed lovers in running the lucrative narcotics factory inside the national penitentiary.

Dayan’s skill in camouflaging his character was also evident during the House probe where he tried to make himself appear as a spurned lover willing to tell all to get back at De Lima.

The House probers then rightly saw through Dayan’s disguise of being a mere errand boy of De Lima and that he has more guile than what he makes it appear.

A member of the panel said the testimonies of Dayan have the effect of shielding both him and De Lima from being pinned as the main characters in the NBP drugs trade.

Even President Rodrigo Duterte then commented that Dayan’s statements were “hogwash” since proof of De Lima’s involvement in the drugs trade was already overwhelming, but Dayan had introduced obfuscation to create cracks in the testimonies against De Lima.

The script that Dayan followed also had him supposedly hiding from the House hearing on the order of De Lima out of loyalty when the senator then was obviously trying to block the conduct of the probe.

It was only when Dayan was arrested by order of the House did he appear in the inquiry.

After Dayan’s arrest, the inquiry was reopened and during the hearing, Dayan and his daughter confessed that De Lima instructed him not to appear in Congress. The senator gave the instruction through a text message to Dayan’s daughter.

De Lima snubbed the entire House proceeding, saying its purpose was mainly to humiliate her and put her in jail. House leaders Oriental Mindoro Rep. and justice panel chair Reynaldo Umali, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez filed a complaint before the Senate against De Lima’s refusal to attend the hearings that brought the disobedience case.

“Dayan’s skill in camouflaging his character was also evident during the House probe.

Dayan appeared before the House probe mainly with a purpose, however, of weakening the confessions of drugs kingpin Kerwin Espinosa that was made in a Senate probe.

Inconsistencies were introduced in the handing of money to De Lima prior to the 2016 elections.

Espinosa told the Senate that De Lima raised funds for her senatorial campaign which was consistent with House testimonies mostly of NBP high-profile inmates on De Lima’s key role in the NBP drugs trade.

A conflict was introduced in the years mentioned when Espinosa last delivered money to De Lima through Dayan. He said it was 2014 while Espinosa said it was 2015.

Dayan also denied Espinosa’s claim before the Senate that he inquired on Espinosa through Albuera, Leyte police head Chief Supt. Jovie Espenido.

Espinosa in his Senate testimony said in the early half of August 2015 Espenido contacted him to say that Dayan wanted to talk to him.

He then said Dayan promised to provide him with protection wherever he operates.

Dayan is likely more than a love object of De Lima but her partner in crime.