A congressman called the testimonies of the Bilibid inmates against Senator Leila De Lima as hearsay evidence in an attempt to link De Lima to the illegal drug trade inside the national penitentiary.
During the second day of the House of Representatives justice committee inquiry over the proliferation of drugs at the national penitentiary on Wednesday, Siquijor Rep. Ramon Rocamora grilled murder convict Hans Anton Tan about the latter’s attempt to link De Lima to the drug trade through her supposed nephew Jose Adrian Dera.
Tan said Dera was De Lima’s nephew who received millions of drug money from drug lord Peter Co in the run-up to De Lima’s senatorial campaign.
Rocamora asked Tan if he personally knew that Dera works as De Lima’s security. Tan said he only knew about this from Solicitor General Jose Calida when the latter visited the Bilibid two months ago.
Rocamora also asked another witness Jaime Patcho how he came to know that kidnap convict Jaybee/JB Sebastian was raising campaign funds for De Lima through the Bilibid trade.
Patcho said it was Sebastian who told him he was raising funds for De Lima.
Rocamora then dismissed the witnesses’ testimonies as “hearsay” because these were based on second-hand information and not personal knowledge.
“Actually, I need to ask the other witnesses but basically it is of the same nature that these statements connecting Leila De Lima to these activities, they appear to be hearsay,” Rocamora said.