Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Friday they will consolidate the two drug trafficking complaints filed against Senator Leila De Lima and several individuals in relation to the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.
Filed separately by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy directors Reynaldo Esmeralda and Ruel Lasala this week, the complaints accuse De Lima and several others of conspiracy to commit drug trade and selling dangerous drugs.
Aguirre said five prosecutors, whose names will be released in a department order to be issued later Friday, will be handling the complaints.
Asked if the complaints will be consolidated since both raised similar issues, Aguirre said: "Yes."
Apart from De Lima, also charged by the VACC were the following:
former Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III;
former BuCor chief Franklin Bucayu;
De Lima's former security aides Ronnie Dayan, Joenel Sanchez and Jose Adrian Dera alias Jad De Vera;
Bucayu's staff and alleged bagman Col. Wilfredo Ely; and
high profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian
The second complaint, which tagged De Lima as the "mother of all drug lords," only listed the senator and former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos as respondents.
Once the preliminary investigation is concluded, the justice department will forward its findings to the Office of the Ombudsman, the agency mandated to investigate and prosecute erring government officials and employees before the Sandiganbayan.
The NBI also has a pending fact finding investigation on the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the national penitentiary during De Lima's stint as justice chief for the purpose of filing charges before the Department of Justice.
De Lima has repeatedly denied the allegation that she tolerated drug syndicates inside the national penitentiary in exchange for funds to bankroll her senatorial campaign early this year.
The senator said the cases were meant to harass her due to her continued criticism of President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal war on drugs.
source:gmanews
Post a Comment