Rafael Ragos said that then-Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II “coerced” him into testifying against Senator Leila De Lima in an affidavit notarized on April 30 in Pasig City but made public on Monday.
This came when another crucial witness, Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa, recanted his affidavit against the senator, claiming that he had been “misled by the police” into signing it in exchange for the accusations against him being dropped.
Ragos, a key witness in one of De Lima’s two remaining drug-related cases, recanted his claims that the senator got two bags carrying P5 million each from the national penitentiary’s drug trade, claiming that Aguirre “coerced” and “forced” him to give such testimony.
After more than five years following De Lima’s imprisonment, Ragos claimed he couldn’t help but “come out with the truth” and apologize to her.
“Hindi ko ginusto ito. Pasensya na. (I never wanted this. I am sorry),” Rafael Ragos, who broke into tears, told reporters. “I just want to clear something that has been on my chest for so long.”
In September 2016, Ragos, who had previously served as the National Bureau of Investigation’s deputy director for intelligence, filed an affidavit claiming that he and former NBI agent Jovencio Ablen Jr. delivered two bags each containing P5 million as De Lima’s “share” of the money allegedly made from the drug trade.
The money, he claimed, came from Wang Tuan Yuan, aka Peter Co, a convicted drug lord jailed at NBP.
Rafael Ragos apologizes to De Lima; wants the senator freed
“There was never any money delivered to my quarters,” Rafael Ragos said. “Even if there was, I would have immediately conducted an investigation and filed (cases) against the responsible individuals.”
He did, however, admit to going to De Lima’s house with Ablen, not to give any filthy money, but to assist the then-justice secretary in decorating her home for Christmas with his wife.
“All of my allegations to the contrary in my affidavits and House and court testimonies are all fiction, false, and fabricated,” Ragos added. He noted he was only “forced” to implicate De Lima and Dayan “due to threats of being detained myself for the crime of engaging in the illegal drug trade that I did not commit.”
“I couldn’t do anything back then,” Rafael Ragos said. “If the justice secretary himself is coercing you, what will you do?”
Meanwhile, De Lima expressed her gratitude for the recent developments and hoped that others would follow in the footsteps of the two significant witnesses who recanted their charges against the senator.
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