JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II has urged Senator Leila de Lima's former security aide and alleged bagman Ronnie Dayan to tell the whole truth about his knowledge on the illegal drug trade in the country following his surrender on Tuesday morning.
In a statement, Aguirre said Dayan will supply the missing links in the drug cases filed against him, De Lima and several others involved in the proliferation of illegal drug trade in the state penitentiary.
"His capture will tie up the loose ends and supply the missing links in the cases before the DOJ (Department of Justice)," Aguirre said.
The Justice secretary added that Dayan will also have an opportunity to clear his name.
"It is also a chance for Mr. Dayan to clear his name so we encourage him to tell the whole truth of what he knows," Aguirre said.
Authorities confirmed that Dayan surrendered to police around 11:30 a.m. in San Juan, La Union.
Dayan, who was also a former lover of De Lima, has been accused of collecting money from drug lords inside the New Bilibid Prison for the senatorial bid of the then Justice secretary.
Malacañang welcomes Dayan's arrest
In a statement sent to reporters, Communications Assistant Secretary for Operations and Special Concerns Marie Banaag was optimistic that Dayan can identify the perpetrators on the so-called Bilibid drug trade.
“We welcome the arrest of Mr. Ronnie Dayan. We hope that Mr. Dayan’s arrest would lead to the uncovering of truth in the proliferation of drugs in Bilibid and for the guilty to be punished,” Banaag said.
“We owe this to the future generation of Filipinos to have a drug-free society,” she added. (Ruth Abbey Gita/Sunnex)
