Ex-BuCor chief Ragos dies

MANILA, Philippines — Former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Rafael Ragos, a key witness who had recanted his testimony against former senator and now Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, died on Tuesday.

Ragos died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Quezon City, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director Ferdinand Lavin confirmed yesterday.

Ragos had sought the forgiveness of De Lima and her former aide Ronnie Dayan for implicating them in drug cases that had been dismissed.

“I beg the forgiveness of these innocent persons who suffered from my transgression of bearing false witness against them,” Ragos said in 2022.

De Lima has condoled with Ragos’ family.

“I honor his conscience in recanting his false testimonies against me, which led to my acquittal in one of the trumped-up illegal drug charges,” De Lima said.

“Ragos was used, but he sought redemption. He asked for forgiveness, and I gave it to him. I know that he was one of those pressured to discredit me and have me jailed based on invented accusations,” she added.

De Lima was acquitted in 2024 of all drug charges filed by the Duterte administration.

She spent nearly seven years in detention at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center.

In May, the Court of Appeals overturned the Muntinlupa court’s acquittal of De Lima, saying the judge committed grave abuse of discretion when he relied solely on Ragos’ recantation.

The court reaffirmed in June its decision and maintained that Ragos’ recantation removed the crucial link needed to establish conspiracy, thereby creating reasonable doubt in the case.

Ragos recanted his testimony in 2022, claiming that he made the allegations against De Lima due to threats coming from then justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, NBI officials and lawyers from the Public Attorney’s Office.

After being turned into a state witness in 2017, Ragos had claimed that he delivered P10 million in drug money to De Lima’s residence in 2012 at the behest of high-profile inmate Hans Tan.

Authorities had ordered the arrest of Ragos, De Lima and Dayan for alleged drug trading at the New Bilibid Prison. –  Jose Rodel Clapano