A RETIRED police general has formally expressed his intention to the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court to retract his allegations against former senator Leila de Lima.
In his one-page letter dated December 18, retired general Jerry Valeroso told Muntinlupa RTC Branch 206 Presiding Judge Gener Gito that he wanted to withdraw his testimonies against De Lima to “set free” those “wrongfully charged” in court.
Valeroso said he also wants to “disclose the real truthfulness that the criminal complaints filed against the accused are pure hearsay and full of lies.”
“Because I was disturbed by my conscience, I planned to recant in early 2019. However, due to fearing for my life and the safety of my family and loved ones, I lost the guts to do so,” Valeroso told Gito.
He added that he is now consulting with his lawyer, whom he said will assist him in the preparations of “my official recantation.”
Gito is handling the remaining drug case of the former senator.
After almost seven years in detention, the Muntinlupa court last month allowed De Lima to post bail, saying that the prosecution failed to present substantial evident to establish the guilt of the former secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and her co-accused.
Gito said the prosecution’s witnesses, including Valeroso, were not able to establish that there was conspiracy among the accused to commit illegal drug trading.
De Lima has earlier won two of the three drug cases lodged against her during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte. The first case was through a demurrer of evidence approved by the court in February 2021, and the second case, due to lack of merit.
Valeroso is the 13th prosecution witness against De Lima to withdraw their testimonies against the former senator and staunch critic of the then Duterte administration’s bloody anti-drug crackdown and human rights abuses.
Other witnesses who previously recanted or informed the court of their decision to withdraw their testimonies were German Agojo, Tomas Donina, Jaime Patcho, Peter Co, Engelbert Durano, Jerry Pepino, Hans Anton Tan, Nonito Arile and Rodolfo Magleo, former Bureau of Corrections chief Rafael Ragos, self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, and De Lima’s bodyguard Ronnie Dayan.
‘LIES’
Valeroso is a former investigator and official of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) who testified that he saw De Lima attending the concert sponsored by Bilibid inmate Herbert Colanggo inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
At that time, De Lima was serving as DOJ secretary under the Aquino administration.
De Lima’s lawyer Bonifacio Tacardon said more than Valeroso’s recantation, they want to get to know who masterminded the “lies” against the former senator.
“Sana sabihin niya sino ang nasa likod dito sa mga akusasyon at kasinungalingan kay senator De Lima, what prompted him to lie at ano at sino ang nag offer sa kanya (We are hoping that he would reveal who was behind the lies and wrong accusations against senator de Lima, what prompted him to lie, and why and who asked him to do so),” Tacardon said.
Earlier, De Lima’s spokesperson lawyer Dino de Leon said they are already discussing the timing of the day of reckoning of her “political persecutors” who accused her of having links to drug syndicates in the national penitentiary.
INMATE-WITNESSES
In a related development, Gito on Wednesday granted De Lima’s request to transfer Agojo, Donina, Patcho, Co, Durano, Pepino, Tan, Colanggo, Arile, Joel Capones and Noel Martinez from the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro to the NBP’s minimum security compound.
Of the 11 inmates, seven — Agojo, Donina, Patcho, Co, Durano, Pepino, Tan — earlier claimed they were threatened to become witnesses against De Lima in exchange for the lives of their families.
They alleged that before they testified linking De Lima to the narcotics trade, their lives were threatened as well, citing several stabbing incidents in the national penitentiary and alleged attempts on their lives when they were detained in Fort Bonifacio and Camp Aguinaldo before they were transferred to Sablayan early this year.
Meanwhile, the DOJ yesterday said judges should refrain from issuing decisions that could be perceived as political after the Muntinlupa court ordered the transfer of the 11 De Lima witnesses to the NBP.
Neither Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla nor Justice assistant secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano answered queries if the DOJ and the Bureau of Correction would follow Gito’s transfer order.
The BuCor is an attached agency of the justice department.
“It is the position of the DOJ that any judge should refrain from involvement in decisions that could be perceived as political. Verily, the management and security of all inmates fall squarely within the purview of the BuCor,” the DOJ said in a statement.
The department also said courts should not dictate the security arrangements for inmates, noting that the court’s order directing the said inmates to be detained at the NBP’s minimum security compound after their transfer from Sablayan.
“Moreover, the DOJ underscores that the courts cannot dictate specific security arrangements for persons deprived of liberty. The BuCor has established protocols to ensure the safety of all individuals in custody. Inmates in the NBP, including those involved in high-profile cases, are provided adequate security and care,” it added.
The department said it is customary for the court to hold hearings in detention facilities where inmates are held, instead of transferring them to locations near the courts.
“If necessary, the availability of video hearings offers a feasible alternative for addressing security and logistical challenges, ensuring that justice is served without compromising established procedures for security,” it said.
In the same statement, the DOJ defended the transfer of the inmates to Sablayan earlier this year, saying it was part of the ongoing jail decongestion policy of the BuCor even as it reminded the public that the said inmates were not ordinary detainees but were imprisoned, mostly for committing heinous crimes.
It added that it also does not view with favor rewarding inmates who recanted or withdrew their testimonies.
“Recanting is viewed unfavorably by the legal system, as it raises questions about the credibility and reliability of witness testimonies. Rewarding persons deprived of liberty for their recantation will set a dangerous precedent,” it said.
In a chance interview, Clavano said the DOJ will exhaust “legal remedies so that the 11 (inmates) will stay in Sablayan.”
“Pinag-aaralan pa ‘yung next steps (We are still studying what steps to take next). If there is really no legal remedies, we would have to follow in the meantime and file the necessary pleadings, maybe in th e form of a new manifestation or another motion,” Clavano said.
“Of course, we respect the judiciary although in this case, it overreached (its authority) when the court directed the DOJ and the BuCor to transfer the witnesses from Sablayan back to the New Bilibid Prison,” he added in mixed Filipino and English.
He said if it’s only up to the DOJ, they would not transfer the inmates considering they are convicted mostly for heinous crimes.
