In a 15-page motion for reconsideration filed by the panel led by Provincial Prosecutor Ramoncito Bienvenido Ocampo Jr., it was maintained that despite the recantation of its principal witness, former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos, other pieces of evidence are sufficient to prove the crime charged. “By accepting the subsequent recantation of witness Ragos hook, line and sinker, the Honorable Court repudiated all these solemn proceedings, without consideration on how the courts and other bodies conducted the proceedings to ensure the voluntariness and veracity of the statements/allegations made by witness Ragos, nor offered an explanation why the statements made by witness Ragos in those proceedings should not be believed and discarded,” read the motion for reconsideration. The prosecution said the other pieces of evidence establish the role played by de Lima and her former bodyguard and co-accused, Ronnie Dayan, in the illegal drug trade activities inside the New Bilibid Prisons.
Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2082493/de-lima-acquittal-challenged-again