Leaders of the House of Representatives filed yesterday before the Department of Justice (DoJ) a complaint against Ronnie Dayan, former lover and driver-bodyguard of Senator Leila de Lima, for snubbing summons to appear before the House inquiry on the proliferation of illegal drugs at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali filed the complaint-affidavit against Dayan, which he signed along with House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Farinas.
In the complaint, the solons accused Dayan of violation Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code which penalizes “disobedience to summons issued by the National Assembly, its committees or subcomittees, by the Constitutional Commissions, its committees, subcommittees or divisions.”
“Respondent Dayan’s failure to appear during the Committee hearing on October 6, 2016 and to respond to the Show Cause Order without any legal excuse is disobedience to summons lawfully issued by the House of Representatives in violation of the Revised Penal Code,” the complainants said.
After Dayan failed to appear at the October 6 hearing held by the House Committee on Justice chaired by Umali, the Lower House cited Dayan for contempt and issued an arrest warrant against him.
Dayan was later arrested in La Union.
“On November 24, 2016, two days after Respondent Dayan was arrested, he appeared before the Committee, where he admitted he disobeyed the Subpoena and Show Cause Order issued by the committee because he was induced by Sen. Leila M. De Lima through his daughter, Ms. Hannah Mae Dayan via SMS, to remain in hiding and not to appear in the Congressional Inquiry,” recounted the complainants.
“Such explanation is clearly unjustified,” they stressed.
During his testimony before Congress, Dayan admitted that on orders of de Lima, he received on her behalf large sums of money from alleged drug lord Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr.
Under the provision of the RPC, Dayan faces a penalty of arresto mayor ranging from one month and one day up to six months of imprisonment, or a fine ranging from P200 to P1,000 or both.
The complainants filed last December 13 before the DoJ the same complaint against de Lima, which was filed by the prosecutors before the Quezon City metropolitan trial court on December 21. (JEFFREY G. DAMICOG)
