THE DRIVER-BODYGUARD of Sen. Leila de Lima will be the star witness in the proposed House of Representatives’ inquiry into the proliferation of drug syndicates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) during her term as justice secretary.

In a press conference, Deputy Speaker Karlo Nograles said President Duterte himself believed that De Lima’s driver, Ronnie Palisoc Dayan, played a key role in the alleged illicit transactions between De Lima and the drug lords inside the NBP and that he could be a state witness.

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“The probe is for the sake of transparency and accountability. If it involved the driver, Congress must send an invitation for him to air his side,” Nograles said in a press conference.

Eleven House leaders led by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez have filed House Resolution No. 105 for either the committee on justice or public order and safety, or both, to investigate the culpability of De Lima and other officials of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in the conversion of the NBP as a virtual headquarters of drug lords to produce “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and direct their operations outside the penitentiary.

Deputy Speaker Sharon Garin said that Congress would give De Lima a courtesy invitation to attend the hearing as resource person to help lawmakers craft laws that would avoid these anomalous drug transactions inside the maximum security prison.

“We have to ask her what went wrong. She and other officials are in the best position to explain to us what happened,” Garin said.

Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu said that Congress had no choice but to zero in on De Lima because she was responsible for the BuCor and the NBP when a December 2014 raid in the state prisons yielded a shabu laboratory and high-powered guns, jewelry, cash and luxury cells of drug lords Peter Co and Herbert Colangco.

He said the abuses happened under her watch and she was ultimately responsible for these due to command responsibility.

Abu, however, would not say if the President would reveal his alleged evidence against De Lima and her driver in the House hearing.

The President claimed in his previous speeches that he had recordings of calls and ATM transactions of De Lima’s driver and the drug lords.

Aside from De Lima and her driver, Abu said the House would also invite former Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, BuCor chief Ricardo Rainier G. Cruz III and his successor, Franklin Jesus B. Bucayu.

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Nograles said the House was also planning to invite the drug lords as resource persons depending on whether they would be allowed to leave prison or the hearings would be held inside the NBP.

Aside from Alvarez, Nograles and Abu, the resolution to investigate De Lima was also signed by Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, Rizal Rep. Michael John Duavit, Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop, Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas, Cavite Rep. Abraham Tolentino, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Salvador Leachon and Valenzuela Rep. Eric Martinez.

Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat said the House probe on De Lima smacked of political persecution because the same lawmakers pushing for the NBP probe were the same people blocking his proposal to investigate the extrajudicial killings in the police operations against illegal drugs.

Baguilat said the probers were unduly focusing their probe on single person when the problems of NBP extended beyond the Aquino administration.

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