Aguirre: Admission of affair with Dayan helps case vs De Lima

JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II believes that the admission of Senator Leila de Lima that she had an affair with her former driver Ronnie Dayan will implicate her in the alleged proliferation of illegal drugs in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

In a chance interview with Aguirre in Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday, he said that de Lima's admission would mean she had "used" Dayan to collect monthly payola from drug lords inside the penitentiary when she was the Justice Secretary.

"May epekto sa probability or improbability na accusation kay Dayan na siya ang collector ng drug money ni de Lima sa NBP, naging mas kapanipaniwala," he said.

In a television interview in GMA New TV's program "Bawal ang Pasaway kay Mareng Winnie," the senator had indirectly confirmed having had a special relationship with Dayan.

In the interview, De Lima said she and Dayan "became so close." She also described her involvement with her former driver and bodyguard as "frailties of a woman."

De Lima also admitted that she helped Dayan financially and that their relationship was borne out of trust that developed between them.

When asked by host Winnie Monsod how long did the relationship last, the senator answered "a few years."

Aguirre said de Lima's indirect admission "corroborated" the testimonies of the inmates who testified in the congressional hearing on drug proliferation last month.

The inmates, who testified in the House probe, including de Lima's former security detail Joenel Sanchez, said the two had a relationship.

Sanchez said he had witnesses the special relationship of the two during their out of town trips, wherein he saw de Lima and Dayan share only one room.

Disbarment

According to Aguirre, de Lima's revelation will be used as evidence to have her name be stricken out from the rolls of attorneys.

"Lumakas [ang kaso] at admitted na ni de Lima yung disbarment for immorality, kasi ngayon wala ng kailangang i-prove yung mga complainants sa disbarment sapagakat lumalabas na talagang siya'y nakiapid sa taong may asawa," he said.

De Lima is facing four separate graft and drug trafficking cases with the DOJ filed by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) executives, Bilibid high profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian and the NBI itself, the agency which led the fact-finding probe against her.

Aside from the criminal complaints, the senator is also facing a disbarment complaint with the Supreme Court (SC) for "gross immorality" in relation to her alleged affair with her former close-in security.

Dayan, who is still nowhere to be found, is alleged of being de Lima's bagman who received millions from drug lords to contribute for de Lima's senatorial bid. (Sunnex)

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