JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said on Saturday he will issue subpoenas to Senator Leila de Lima and other personalities next week over their alleged involvement in narcotics trafficking from the New Bilibid Prison.
“We will issue the subpoenas next week,” Aguirre said after he ordered government lawyers to consolidate the complaints filed by jail inmate Jaybee Sebastian, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and former National Bureau of Investigation officials Ruel Lasala and Reynaldo Esmeralda.
The subpoenas will direct De Lima and the other respondents to attend the preliminary investigation on the four complaints being handled by a five-man panel of prosecutors, Aguirre said.
The panel includes Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong, Senior Assistant City Prosecutors Alexander Ramos, Leila Llanes and Evangeline Viudez-Canobas and Assistant State Prosecutor Editha Fernandez.
Aguirre said De Lima, a former Justice secretary, and her co-respondents can choose to ignore the preliminary investigation but that would mean they are waiving their right to controvert the charges against them.
Aside from De Lima, other respondents are former Justice undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, former Bureau of Corrections chief Franklin Jesus Bucayu, former BuCor officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos, De Lima’s former security aides Ronnie Dayan and Joenel Sanchez, and several inmates like Herbert Colanggo, Peter Co and Jojo Baligad.
De Lima has repeatedly denied allegations that she tolerated drug syndicates inside the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa City in exchange for funds for her 2016 election campaign.