Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday said government officials higher than former secretary and now Sen. Leila de Lima may have been involved in the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
Aguirre, however, declined to make conclusions at this point as investigations are still underway.
“Di po 'yan matatapos d'yan sapagkat mayroong nagsasabi na ito ay tataas pa bukod kay De Lima.
Pero sa ngayon po ay premature pa iyan sapagkat ang aming imbestigasyon ay patuloy pa,” he said in a press conference.
President Rodrigo Duterte had said De Lima was the highest government official involved in the drug trade in the NBP, based on a matrix that he recently showed to the media.
De Lima denied the allegation which the House of Representatives' Committee on Justice will start investigating on Tuesday.
Aguirre said they have at least 30 witnesses, including National Bureau of Investigation personnel and high-profile inmates, who agreed to testify on De Lima's alleged complicity in the drug operations inside the NBP while she was justice chief.
Aside from convicted armed robber and drug dealer Herbert Colangco, Aguirre said other high-profile NBP inmates will testify against De Lima.
Aguirre had said that the witnesses volunteered and they did not receive anything in exchange for their testimonies against De Lima.
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