THEY called each other “Love” and built a P2.8-million house together, but after Senator Leila de Lima became involved with her other driver-bodyguards, Ronnie Dayan got jealous, lost his love for her and now calls her a liar for denying knowing the self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa.
Dayan, who admitted he and De Lima were lovers for seven years, said he was willing to testify in court against his former boss in the Commission on Human Rights and Department of Justice, where De Lima was chief.
In his sworn statement and during his testimony Thursday at the House committee on justice, chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, Dayan tagged De Lima as a liar when she denied knowing Espinosa.
Dayan said it was De Lima who ordered him to see Espinosa five times to pick up the drug money on her behalf. He said he did not know Espinosa was a drug lord, and thought he was an engineer.
“I just learned it was Kerwin when I saw him on TV when his name was implicated and his father was arrested. Then I heard his Senate testimony. But it was in August to November 2014 that we met in MOA and Burnham Park in Baguio, not 2015. I resigned in February 2015,” Dayan said in Filipino.
Dayan said he fell in love with De Lima when he was first hired at her law office, where he got paid P1,000 a day, in 2007.
After a month of serving her as driver-bodyguard, Dayan said De Lima started visiting him at his rented apartment along Commonwealth Avenue, near the CHR, where she became the chief.
When De Lima was named Justice secretary in 2010, Dayan said De Lima decided for them to live together. The two moved in in De Lima’s house in Parañaque.
Dayan described his love affair with De Lima to have reached its peak that became so intense it was likened to a super typhoon at Signal No. 5. Seven years later, Dayan said his love for De Lima now stood at Signal No. 1 or was “maybe gone.”
When De Lima started to notice her other driver-bodyguards Joenel Sanchez and Warren Bautista, he said he got jealous and became violent.
“I got so jealous, I slapped her on the face because she wanted all of us her driver-bodyguards to be her lovers, all at the same time. Uubusin niya kaming mga security niya,” Dayan said upon the questioning of House Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas.
But De Lima had a chance to slap him back when during the campaign, Dayan went to see her to ask for campaign funds. She gave him P30,000 and had him bring her tarpaulins and other campaign materials.
But when she saw Dayan wearing a baller for candidate Rodrigo Duterte, De Lima’s arch-enemy, she slapped him in the face and cursed him for idolizing a crazy person (sira-ulo). When Dayan insisted on supporting Duterte, De Lima cursed at him (“Punyeta ka!”).
Dayan said he had no regrets loving De Lima. He said they built the orange house in Urbiztondo, Pangasinan together, which also served as their love nest. Dayan said he contributed P800,000 of his life savings for the house while De Lima shelled out P2 million. She also gave him P120,000 to buy the land on which the house was built.
Dayan said he was able to save because De Lima gave him extra income amounting to P25,000 to P30,000 during his days off. He hardly went home to his family on weekends because De Lima wanted them to be together on weekends, he said.
Dayan said De Lima was aware he was married and had four children. He said he never lied to De Lima about his marital status and never told her he and his wife were separated.
“My wife and I were separated because of the distance, since my work was in Manila and she was in the province,” he said.
This revelation prompted the lawmakers to ask what possible charges can be filed against De Lima for acting unbecoming of a government official and a lawyer.
Dayan said his wife and children were hurt by his affair but they eventually forgave him and accepted him back. With Maricel V. Cruz
In fact, his wife and daughter signed as witnesses in Dayan’s four-page sworn affidavit. They also accompanied him in the House when he was arrested in La Union last Tuesday and was brought to the House, where he was placed under custody following an arrest warrant issued by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
Despite the affair, Dayan’s 23-year-old daughter continued her communication with De Lima and even asked her on Oct. 1 what her father should do since the House summoned him to appear before the committee hearing. She called De Lima “Tita Lei” and named her in her cell phone “TL.”
Hanna Mae then told the committee that De Lima had advised her father to hide and stay away from the congressional hearings.
She showed her mobile phone, which contained an exchange of texts between her and De Lima, while lawmakers confirmed that it was indeed De Lima’s number.
Farinas and other lawmakers demanded that De Lima be cited in contempt for obstruction of justice for stopping Dayan from testifying. No one objected when the motion was raised.
House Deputy Minority Leader Harry Roque Jr. demanded that De Lima be dismissed from the Senate.
Dayan was also asked about the alleged sex video of him and De Lima that was widely distributed on the internet, but he denied that he had taken any sex videos.
He said if there were a sex video, he did not take it.
The House panel also unanimously decided to turn Dayan over to Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa, who volunteered to provide security for Dayan.
Dayan said he would go home to Pangasinan and see his children.
He said he was no longer fearful because he had told the truth, and that his life was in God’s hands. With Maricel V. Cruz