IN the ongoing legal proceedings involving former senator Leila de Lima and her alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade, a prosecution witness who sought to retract his previous statements against the legislator has been transferred to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
The transfer of Rodolfo Magleo to the minimum security compound was confirmed by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief, Gregorio Catapang Jr., following the approval of Magleo’s transfer request by the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court, according to a report from abogado.com
Simultaneously, the court granted the relocation request of another witness, Nonito Arile, who also expressed his intention to recant his previous statements against de Lima.
Both Magleo and Arile articulated their desire to retract their earlier testimony in a letter addressed to de Lima, citing a deeply troubling moral conflict.
The letter, made public by Attorneys Boni Tacardon and Dino de Leon, was also submitted by Magleo to the Muntinlupa City RTC, marking a significant development in this legal saga.
De Lima’s first acquittal occurred in February 2021 when the Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 205 dismissed one of the three cases against her.
This particular case revolved around the testimony of former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos, who alleged that he had delivered large sums of money to de Lima, purportedly from inmates at NBP, to support her 2016 senatorial campaign.
However, Ragos later recanted his testimony, claiming that he had been coerced into implicating de Lima in the illegal drug trade.
metrosundaily
