Dispatch from Crame No. 1257:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima on Aguirre's reply to Ragos's recantation

5/5/22

Former SOJ Aguirre cannot be believed in his denial of Ragos's accusations against him. He has a history of coercing witnesses, manufacturing evidence or lying about evidence.

Aguirre orchestrated the trial by publicity conducted against me both in the House of Representatives and the Senate. He also coerced DOJ employees to admit falsely that they received money and held bank accounts for my benefit. In his effort to fabricate charges against me, he gave immunity under the Witness Protection Program to the Bilibid inmates he either coerced or bribed to testify against me during the House hearing in September 2016, even when criminal convicts are disqualified from becoming state witnesses. Not one of them was prosecuted in court by Aguirre and his DOJ, except for Jaybee Sebastian.

Because of Ragos's recent affidavit pointing to Aguirre as the mastermind behind his false testimony against me, I will file a supplement to the Complaint I filed against Aguirre with the Ombudsman in 2017. This complaint includes a criminal complaint for offering false testimony, use of falsified documents, and grave coercion. Ragos's affidavit will serve as strong evidence, together with the other documents I already submitted to the Ombudsman, that Aguirre committed these criminal offenses against me when he ordered the preparation and filing of fabricated drug charges against me.

Aguirre's statement that Ragos's retraction is politically-motivated and timed for the elections is pure speculation, a flimsy defense. Ragos has always been under the wing of the DOJ, even retaining his position as NBI Deputy Director for the good part of the trial, at least until he finishes his cross-examination.

I, on the other hand, remain in detention here in Camp Crame. What influence can I possibly have on Ragos to be able to extract his recantation, moreso time its execution in time for the elections?

I say it again - Aguirre is a certified liar. He's an embarrassment to the whole justice system. ###

(Access the handwritten version, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/1_788c1cb1b779a9 )