Senator Leila de Lima yesterday said high-profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian “apparently and obviously” succumbed to pressure that is why he testified against her.
“I can only say that apparently and obviously, Jaybee Sebastian has been pushed to the wall,” De Lima told reporters when sought to respond to Sebastian’s testimony at the House of Representatives’ ongoing illegal drug trade probe.
“Apparently and obviously di na niya nakayanan ang pressure. Di ba sinabi ko na sa inyo yan dati na grabe ang pag-pressure sa kanya, na mismo ang asawa niya and one of my very A1 source ay nagpi-plead na sa kanya, nakiusap na sa kanya, nagmamakaawa na sa kanya na sundin na ’yung gusto nilang gawin,” she said.
“Ano ’yung gusto nilang gawin? For Jaybee Sebastian to testify against me. Although for the past weeks nakakabilib din si Jaybee Sebastian na you know pinanindigan niya, di sya agad nakumbinsi. But now that he has appeared there and sumama na sa mga kasinungalingan na yan, ibig sabihin hindi na niya kaya ’yung pressure,” she pointed out.
De Lima earlier said that Sebastian was a government asset inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). But at the House probe, Monday morning, the inmate denied this.
She said Sebastian’s decision to testify against her validated the information she got that he was the target of the alleged “riot” inside Bilibid 19.
“Dahil ’yung source ko rin po says na talaga rin namang target nung alleged riot na ’yun sa Bilibid 19 ay siya, patayin na daw siya. ’Yun po ang alam ko so that can only be the explanation na hindi na niya nakakayanan,” she said.
“In other words, nakinig na sya sa asawa niya. Kasi nag makaawa nga na sundin mo na ’yung ipagawa sa iyo kasi si De Lima lang naman ang habol nila. Maiiintindihan din naman niya, ni senator later. Ganun lang,” De Lima clarified.
De Lima reiterated it was former Presidential Anti-Organized Crime (PAOC) Commission head Reginald Villasanta and former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Franklin Bucayu who told her of Sebastian being an asset inside the national penitentiary and the one reporting to them about the illegal drug trade inside the NBP.
“Sila ang nagsabi sa akin nun na sa kanya nanggaling ’yung ilang mga impormasyon hinggil sa mga kalakaran sa loob ng Bilibid. So in a sense asset siya,” she pointed out.
“So kung hindi nya yan sinasabi ngayon, again kasama yan sa pag pressure sa kanya. Hindi niya kasi pde aminin yan kasi nga pinasisinungaling at ginagawa narin siyang sinungaling, including yang paratang na yan na may binigay silang pera sa akin,” she said.
Asked about allegations that her former aide Joenel Sanchez served as their conduit in the drug trade business, De Lima said she too believe that her former staff is also being pressured to testify against her at the ongoing House probe.
“Tanungin nila si Joenel kung totoo ’yun. Now si Joenel, syempre isa rin po ’yun, na na-pressure na rin mag testify.
So di ako magtataka kung halimbawa i-recall nila si Joenel for the purpose of corroborating, quote and quote, yang claim na yan ni JB Sebastian,” she said. (HANNAH TORREGOZA)