PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is in possession of wiretaps and ATM records showing that the former driver-bodyguard of Sen. Leila de Lima transacted with drug lords at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa when she was Justice secretary. Duterte made the revelation in a news conference at 1 a.m. in Davao City on Sunday, where he addressed criticisms, including from his relatives abroad, over his public exposure of de Lima’s alleged affair with the driver-bodyguard, identified as Ronnie Palisoc Dayan.
Duterte claimed the driver(love affair partner), whom he alleged had collected money from drug traders for de Lima’s senatorial campaign, could not have acted without her knowledge. The two were intimate, he said, based on recordings of their “lovers’ talk” over the phone. “What is really crucial here is that because of her [romantic]relationship with her driver which I termed ‘immoral’ because the driver has a family and wife, that connection gave rise to the corruption of what was happening inside the national penitentiary. That is why the inmates had special privileges,” he said.
“All of this could have only happened if there was a go-signal from the head of the department, which is the secretary,” the President told reporters. Duterte said a foreign country, which he did not name, provided the wiretaps. “Even the ATM (automated teller machine) and the calls emanating from Muntinlupa to her driver,” he said. The President admitted that the recordings were inadmissible as evidence in court, but said he would confront de Lima with these if given the chance.
Duterte claimed the driver(love affair partner), whom he alleged had collected money from drug traders for de Lima’s senatorial campaign, could not have acted without her knowledge. The two were intimate, he said, based on recordings of their “lovers’ talk” over the phone. “What is really crucial here is that because of her [romantic]relationship with her driver which I termed ‘immoral’ because the driver has a family and wife, that connection gave rise to the corruption of what was happening inside the national penitentiary. That is why the inmates had special privileges,” he said.
“All of this could have only happened if there was a go-signal from the head of the department, which is the secretary,” the President told reporters. Duterte said a foreign country, which he did not name, provided the wiretaps. “Even the ATM (automated teller machine) and the calls emanating from Muntinlupa to her driver,” he said. The President admitted that the recordings were inadmissible as evidence in court, but said he would confront de Lima with these if given the chance.
